Wake Me Up, Please!
by QueenOfTheMods
Summary: It all happened so fast. In a flash, everything she knew was gone. But, where was she? EdxOC 8/10/12- Double Upload
1. Theres no place like home

**Ok, Here it is! The rewritten Amestris? I hope its better.**

**Disclaimer: The sugar-crazed alchemist doen't own FMA.**

_***EDITED(MORE LIKE REWRITTEN): December 3, 2010***_

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_Chapter One: There's No Place Like Home._

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Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

"Oh my god, this is so boring!" a brown-haired girl cried as she chucked the book she was reading across the room. It hit the wall with a dull thud and landed open on the ground. She stared at it for a moment, as if it was going to retaliate for such abusive treatment. When the book stayed put, she stood up, grumbling.

"This is stupid..." she muttered, looking around her room. Nothing in it seemed catch her attention at the moment and she felt like screaming. The young woman started to pace the small room, for lack of anything better to do. After a few minutes, she stopped to stare at her T.V. She was about to reach for the remote when a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Alice! Come here please!"

Alice groaned, pushing her hair back. Feeling as though she was about to sell her soul to the devil, she reached for the doorknob. She stopped short as a sharp pain erupted in her head. She stumbled back, bringing a hand to her forehead. She was about to call for her mother when the pain exploded. The her vision went black and she knew no more.

**~X~**

When Alice first opened her eyes, all she could see was a giant blue blob. She squinted a bit and blue blob became a fuzzy looking sky. She stared at it in confusion for a moment before realizing that the lack of vision was due to her missing glasses. Alice sat up abruptly and looked around. She found them lying a few feet away and slipped them on. The space around her came into focus and she glanced around, studying it. From what it looked like, she was in an alley. A very strange alley.

_'Ok...' _Alice thought, _'I'm in an alley...only one problem. I don't live near any alleys. So why am I in one?" _A feeling of fear and paranoia washed over her and she lept up, looking around. The alley itself didn't have anything particularly interesting in it, so she headed for the street. What she saw only heighten her worry.

The street before her was made of cobblestones, the few cars that drove on it looked like metal boxes on wheels. A vast majority of the car-less areas of the street were taken up by pedestrians, all of whom seemed to be heading to a costume party. Why else would people wear fancy old dresses and and weird suits like that? But as more and more people walked by, wearing the same attire, she began to doubt that they were going to a party. Not that she had really believed that in the first place. She was still trying to figure out what these people were smoking when a loud explosion rang out behind her. She screamed, covering her head and ducking behind a stray trash can.

"You might want to get out of here. It's not my job to kill civilians."

Alice opened her eyes, noticing for the first time the shadow that had fallen over her. She glanced up to find a dark skinned man with white hair and a 'X' shaped scar on his face, standing over her. She paled, and stood up nervously, nodding and trying to keep her breathing under control. She slowly moved away, trying her best to stay calm. All attempts were lost when a large suit of armor came crashing through the hole in the wall.

She screamed again, clutching her chest as a blond hair boy raced out after him. Any color that had been left in her face ran away as her brain finally clicked. Unfortunately, she recognized the blonde haired shrimp running around the alley. The cosplayer(For who else could he be?) was dressed as Edward Elric, the main character in one of the mangas she read. Even though she felt like she was going to wet her pants, she had to admit that they had done a good job on their outfit.

The cosplayer chose that moment to notice her and began to yell at the man standing beside her for 'endangering innocent people'. Alice glanced up at him, realizing that he must be a cosplayer too. He seemed to be dressed as the character Scar. And the man in the armor had to be Alphonse, Edward's little brother. She began to calm down a bit, now that she knew she was just at some strange anime convention. Of course, there was still the question of how she had gotten there, but that could be answered later.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she stepped forward to ask where they were when the Scar cosplayer suddenly attacked the Edward one. She yelped, stumbling back. Surely fighting was against the rules? Maybe she could find some security personnel nearby. She was about to embark on her quest for a pay-by-the-hour security guard when the Alphonse cosplayer yelled out to her.

"Miss! Get over here! Before you get hit by Brother or Scar!"

Alice's eye twitched as she turned around. They were gonna be like that, eh? Well, she'd just tell them to get a life.

"Attention those in this alley without lives!" she yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth. The three males(At least she assumed they were males. You could never tell with cosplayers.) turned to look at her, a murderous aura drifting from the fighters. She ignored it. "We seem to have a small problem here. I'm going to fix it. I know I haven't been to any conventions, BUT, surely this fighting is against the rules? I commend you on your...dedication. But this is taking it a bit far, don't you think? Now, you all sit here like good little boys, or girls, while I go get one of those Rent-A-Cops. Kay?"

Silence filled the alley. The tension was so thick, Alice could have cut it with a knife. She felt her eye begin to twitch again as the silence wore on.

"Alright. Fine. Be that way. I guess you guys can't take a hint. I think I'm gonna find a real cop instead and have him arrest you for disturbing the peace!"

"What's...a rentacop?" asked the boy in armor, curiously. The blonde flinched, whirling on him.

"Now is not the time, Al! We have bigger things to worry about!"

"Oh? Do you now?" asked Alice, her annoyance level reaching a new high. "Like who's going to be your cell buddy when you go to jail? You better not drop the soap shrimp!"

She laughed, finding her joke very hilarious, as the cosplayers continued to stare at her.

"What?" asked the blonde, tilting his head. "Don't drop the...wait...did you just call me short?"

"That's enough." The Scar bellowed, rolling his sleeve up. "This ends now."

She didn't even have time to blink before the tanned man was in her face. She choked, her laugh cutting off as she backed into the wall. These cosplayers did more than cross the line, they did a flying leap, doing pirouettes and flips as they flew. They needed more than a Rent-A-Cop, they needed professional mental help. She forced a dry chuckle out of her lips, desperately trying to pull her cell phone out of her pocket.

"Hey n-now. No need to resort to violence...right? Yeah. We're good. We're cool. I was...bluffing. I was kiddin' man. No one really likes those Rent-A-Cops, eh?"

"I suggest you shut up." the man growled, lifting his tattooed arm to her head. Alice shivered at his voice, shifting her shoulder so she could reach her phone. Finally, her fingers grasped the plastic and she let out a cry of triumph, ducking and sliding away from the man. Walking backwards, she flipped the phone open, dialing 911 and bringing it to her ear. She was met with silence. She stopped walking for a moment, pulling it away. The screen was black. How had she not noticed that before? She turned it over, trying to see if something had come loose. It looked fine, not scratches or dents. There was no explanation for why it wasn't working, considering she had charged it the night before.

"Are you done yet?" As the Edward, scowling. Alice ignored him, looking at the tiny black screen in fear.

"My phone won't work." she whispered.

"What?" asked the Scar, stepping closer.

"M-my phone. It's not working..." she repeated, flinching and stepping back. She needed to get out of there. These guys seemed truly insane, who knew what they'd do.

"That's not a phone. It's too small." The armor stated, moving forward.

"It's a phone you freaks!" she cried, stumbling back and falling into the trash can."Creepers like you shouldn't be aloud to roam the streets let alone participate in conventions! Who on earth aloud this? They need to be tasered!" Stumbling again, she dropped her phone, watching with wide eyes as it bounced of the trash can and onto the street, breaking into little pieces. She had never known her phone was that fragile.

"I'm screwed..." she whispered.

"Yes you are girl. I was going to spare you but you're too annoying." The Scar said, coming towards her.

"Leave her alone, Scar!" cried the Alphonse as Alice cowered behind the can. She hadn't really thought about how she'd die but she had never imagined it would be at the hands of a psychopath dressed as an anime character. She closed her eyes, hugging herself as she waited for him to strike or pull out a gun. The sounds of fighting filled her ears but she felt nothing. Slowly looking up, she saw that the shrimp was now fighting the Scar. The Scar that just blew up the blondes metal arm.

Her eyes widened with the blondes as pieces of metal fell to the ground, joining her deceased phone. The arm...had been real? But that wasn't possible. Artificial limbs of that caliber weren't available in real life. At least, not ones made like that. So how had this guy gotten one? He must be really insane to get rid of his arm for a costume. Unless...it was actually him? No, that wasn't possible. Alice shook her head, ignoring the sounds of yelling as she tried to arrange her thoughts.

_"Either...these guys are really insane...or I am. I wonder which it is. Probably me. Because those people are book characters, not living, breathing, creatures of flesh. Ugh, why am I even considering such a possibility? What I need to do is get out of this alley and find some pol-"_ Alice's thoughts were cut off by the Edward's scream. Her head snapped up and she leaned around the trash can to see. The Alphonse was now missing a chunk of armor, most likely due to the tanned man's violent streak. Only...the armor was empty. A scream ripped through the air and it took her a few moments to realize it had come from her.

It was now official. Either she had slipped into the realm of sweet insanity in the past couple of hours...or all of this was real. The latter was seeming more and more likely. Scar turned to look at her as Edward cried out for his brother to answer. The dark skinned man came towards her, coming to a stop in front of her and squatting down.

"Your turn."

Alice's eyes reached a new level of wide as she tried to back up farther.

"N-no...I didn't mean any of it! Really! Y-you don't have to take it s-so hard. It doesn't matter if you drop the soap! I won't laugh!" she cried, burying her face in her hands.

"I don't care about any soap. I'm only concerned with ending this as fast as-"

Scar's voice was cut off by a loud gunshot, causing the violent man to leap away from her. Alice screamed again, something she seemed to be doing a lot lately, and covered her head with her arms as more gunshots rang out. So her cause of death would be a gunshot wound instead of whatever Scar had been planning. It didn't sound much better.

Then, the gunfire stopped. She heard some crashes and explosions but whoever was causing them was no longer in the alley with her. Footsteps raced past her, towards where the blonde and the armor were. She sort of expected that. What she didn't expect was a pair of footsteps breaking off and coming over towards her. She flinched and looked up warily as a hand was placed on her shoulder. Her pupils dilated as her brain gave a name to the face she was seeing.

Maes Hughes.

Oh yes, she had definately entered the realm of sweet insanity.

They just lied about the sweet part.

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**SCA: Well? Is it better this time? I'd write more. I swear I would, but Vol. 2 was checked out at the library and I need that for the next part. I'm sorry!**

**Emily: Please review! If you do, we'll give you Ed plushies!**

**Alice: Really!**

**Emily: You can't review**

**Alice: Dang it all...**

_***EDITED: DECEMBER 3, 2010***_


	2. Welcome to the idiot brigade

**SCA: And we're back!**

**Ed: Joy**

**SCA: Shut up shrimp!**

**Ed: WHO YOU CALLIN' SHORT? -attacks SCA-**

**SCA: GAH!**

**Al: Ugh...Emily, you do it**

**Emily: Fine...SCA doesn't own Fullmetal Alchemist**

**Let the chappy begin!**

_***EDITED: DECEMBER 3, 2010-JANUARY 7, 2011***_

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_Chapter Two: Welcome to the Idiot Brigade_

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_"Welcome back, Emily!" _The computer screen read, sending a bright, blinding light into the darkened room. The girl sitting in front of it squinted a bit, clicking on the chat option.

"Alice isn't on yet? Weird..."

She tapped her fingers on the desk, waiting. After five minutes of nothing, she gave up and logged out. There was no point in staying online if there was no one to talk to. Grumbling a little, she swiveled around in her computer chair, unsure of what to do.

"Ugh, this headache. I think I'm gonna get some Tylenol." Emily(For that was indeed her name, Facebook did not lie) got up, heading for the kitchen.

Halfway there, her headache reached a new level and she stumbled into the couch. Gripping her head, she let out a soft groan. Eventually the pain dulled and she was able to continue her trek to the kitchen. She was just reaching for the cabinet when the pain came back, causing her to slump forward onto the counter, entering a world of black.

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Alice was currently sitting in her self appointed emo-corner, trying not to have a panic attack. It wasn't going well. Edward, Alphonse, Roy Mustang(Yes, THE Roy Mustang) were on the other side of the office with a some others, just out of hearing range. She figured it didn't matter if she heard them or not. Surely this was just a dream that she would eventually wake up from. She just had to give herself time. Maybe. Or maybe she really had gone insane and she was stuck in this messed up little world for the rest of her problematic life. That would be just her luck.

She glanced up at the group across the room. She hoped they didn't kick her out. Scar had gotten away and she did not want to be out there alone and turn into easy prey. It didn't matter that this was all a dream, it still hurt. Alice sighed, bringing her knees to her chest and resting her chin on them. Why did she have to get stuck in such horrible place? Couldn't her brain come up with something nicer? It was a real disappointment.

"Miss?"

Alice looked up to see Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye standing in front of her. Roy looked wary and a bit angry. Riza looked indifferent yet calculating at the same time. It was strange.

"Care to tell us why we found you in that alley? Fullmetal says that you were standing with Scar when he arrived." Roy asked, glaring at her. She flinched a tiny bit. The man had no reason to glare at her like that! Shifting a bit in her seat, she turn to look at Roy.

"I don't have to answer that." she said confidentially. "I don't have a lawyer."

"I suggest you answer." Riza stated calmly.

"I don't have to. I created this place, I get to decide what I do." Alice repeated.

"What?" asked Roy, raising an eyebrow. "You didn't create anything."

"Yes I did. I'm insane, I know it. My brain created this place as revenge."

"Hate to break it to you," said Edward, who had been listening from across the room. "But this is all real. So answer the question." Alice glared at him, wishing for the first time in her life that she could stab him.

"Ok, ok fine. Have it your way. I'll answer the question. I don't know why I was in that alley. I just woke up there. It not my fault the shrimp and Mr. 'I-love-tanning-beds' showed up."

"Just woke up there? Yeah right. You were probably waiting for us. You're probably Scar's new sidekick." Ed snarled.

"I am not!" Alice cried indigently."I've never been here in my life! How would I be able to team up with him? Plus, he's a freak!"

Everyone stared at her in silence, causing the girls eye to twitch as she refrained from yelling. Finally, it was too much.

"What?" she exclaimed. "Why are you all staring at me?"

"You mean mean you've never been to Central before, right?" asked Roy, shifting his stance as the others looked away.

"No, I mean I've never been to...Amestris before."

"Then where are you from? You don't look Xingese..." Hawkeye commented, looking her over.

"I'm from America."

As the others started their staring again, she attempted to elaborate. "You know, the good old US of A? U.S.A? United States? Are my words not penetrating your minds?"

"I've never heard of this...'America'." Ed retorted.

"How could you not have heard of it? It's like, the second biggest country in the world! Or is it the biggest? Or is it the third biggest? I dunno and it doesn't matter! You've had to have heard of it." Alice let out an irritated huff, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Trust me, I'd know if I had heard about it." Edward replied crossly, trying to reflect her actions only to realize he was missing an arm.

"Well, do you know how you got here, from this 'America'?" asked Alphonse, finally speaking up.

"I have absolutely no idea." Alice stated. The whole room seemed to deflate as she turned her head away to glare at the wall.

"Well then," said Roy, his eye twitching slightly as a fake smile graced his face. "How about we lock you up until you remember?"

"What?" Alice screeched, whipping her head back to stare at the dark-haired man.

"She's but a child!" Armstong objected. "We can't lock her up!"

"Then what do you suggest we do, Major? She could be dangerous." asked Mustang, his eyes daring Armstrong to try and contradict him. The Major was silent, everyone's gazes resting on him, waiting. Mustang began to speak again but Armstong cut him off.

"I'll watch over her. Send her with the Elrics and me. If she becomes a hazard, I'll take care of her myself!" he answered, sparkles erupting from the air around his head. Alice paled as the words sunk in, easily understanding just what "I'll take care of her" meant. Edward meanwhile, looked ready to take someone's head.

"Why on Earth would I want to travel with her? I think I should have a say in this!"

Mustang blatantly ignored him, meeting the Major's eyes with his own. "Fine. But the moment she becomes a danger, she's mine. I'll be the one to take care of her."

Armstong nodded, giving him a salute. Alice on the other hand, had paled to an almost deathly degree, her stomach churning at the thought of these men trying to kill her. Roy noticed, giving her a knowing smirk as he turned to face the room at large.

"All right, now that that's settled, get back to work!"

The men(And woman) around him scattered, heading back to their various jobs as Armstong herded the Elrics and Alice out the door.

"Oh god, I am so, _so_ screwed." Alice muttered.

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Blurry shapes entered her vision as Emily slowly opened her eyes. After getting used to the light, she took a quick look around to find that she was in a room she didn't recognize. Considering she didn't remember falling asleep, she began to get a little worried. She quickly pushed herself into a sitting position and searched for her glasses. Emily found them sitting on the table beside her bed, everything around her coming into focus as she slipped them on.

The room she was in was unfamiliar and simple, consisting of a bed, a desk, a table, and a dresser. There was a small window above the desk that gave no clues to her location and a closed door beside the dresser that was most likely locked. She was just beginning to get up when the knob turned. Emily froze, watching the door as it slowly opened. The dark wood moved to reveal a teenage girl with blonde hair, carrying a bowl. It took Emily a moment to process what she was seen but when she had she was absolutely positive. The female standing in the doorway was none other than...Winry Rockbell.

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***EDITED: DECEMBER 3, 2010-JANUARY 7, 2011(YES IT TOOK THAT LONG)***

**SCA: Finally finished! I tried to make it longer. **

**Ed: I think you kinda failed.**

**SCA: Don't make me hurt you shrimp**

**Ed :Why you little-jumps at SCA-**

**Alice: Oi! Break it up you two!**

**Emily: -Sweatdrops- uh...**

**Al: Please review! We'll give you...uh...what are we giving them?**

**Emily: cookies...just say cookies**

**Al: cookies!**


	3. Warning! Stranger danger!

**SCA: We're back! Again!**

**Ed: You ever gonna come up with something new to say?**

**SCA: No, why should I?**

**Ed: Nevermind**

**SCA: Hmmm, Alice! **

**Alice: What?**

**SCA: Do the disclaimer**

**Alice: Fine. SCA doesn't own FMA**

**And the chapter begins!**

***EDITED JANUARY 7-8, 2011***

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_Chapter 3: Warning! Stranger Danger!_

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Alice was sitting on a train seat, waiting for it to start. Edward was sitting beside her, a dark cloud looming over his head. Armstrong sat across from them, sparkles still erupting from him. Alice sighed, shifting a little. This was the first time she had ever been on a train, and it wasn't giving her a good first impression. It felt like she was sitting on cement or something! Alice leaned back, looking out the window. She gave a sigh as the train began to move, slumping down in her seat as Armstong pulled out a newspaper. Ed was well on his way to dreamland, so she had no one to talk to. Alice leaned her head back, staring at the ceiling and replying the events from before in her head.

_Alice was standing next to Al's box. Her arms were crossed and she felt kind of intruding. Roy, Riza, Havoc, and Hughes stood near by. Edward stood the farthest away, staring at something coming towards him. Armstrong ran forward, tears pouring down his face, and wrapped Edward in a bonecrushing hug._

_"I'VE HEARD ABOUT YOU EDWARD ELRIC! Your pure love that made you try to bring your mother back! And your mighty love that made you prepared to throw away your own life to transmute your little brother's soul! I AM MOVED!" Armstrong leaned toward Ed, only to get kicked in the face. Ed walked over to Roy, angermarks all over his face._

_"You've got a big mouth Colonel."_

_"Well...When I was approached by someone that annoying, I had no choice but to talk about your past." Still crying, Armstrong spoke again._

_"And that is why...I shall take the responsibility of being your escort until we meet your automail specialist!"_

_"What? Didn't we already establish this? Why do I even need one?"_

_"Edward, " said Riza coming up to him, "Are you saying you are going to leave as you are now when Scar might attack again? Doesn't it make sense to have an escort who can stand up to him?"_

_"And you can't carry around Al with that body." said Havoc._

_"So. I'm fine with anyone but the Major." said Ed. That's when everyone started making excuses._

_"I have a lot of work. I'm going back to Central soon. " said Hughes._

_"I can't leave HQ" said Roy._

_"Its very hectic watching over the Colonel" Riza commented._

_"Got zero confidence in protecting you when its that dangerous." said Havoc. _

_"Its decided! I shall stay your escort!" said Armstrong, hitting Ed on the head._

_"Don't judge things for me!" Ed yelled._

_"Children should listen to what adults say."_

_"Don't treat me like a kid! Al, you say something too!" Ed yelled turning to face Al and Alice. Al's eyeholes turned into sparkles, causing Alice to scoot away._

_"Brother! This is the first time I've been treated as a child since I've become a suit of armor!" Ed anime fell, surprising Alice. Suddenly Mustang was beside them, smirking._

_"If you still insist on being unreasonable, how would you like it if I gave you a court-martial for violating orders?"_

_"That's playing dirty!" Ed yelled._

_"Yes, If its decided, then let us pack!"_

_That was when Armstrong put Al in a box._

_"It is cheaper on travel fees if he is treated as luggage!" said Armstrong happily. Ed was on the ground, another black cloud over his head as he mumbled something that sounded like "Little Brother." ._

_"Why am I stuck with these lunatics?" Alice muttered, rubbing her forehead. Edward's head snapped up to stare at her._

_"What was that?"_

_"Nothing~" _

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Emily was sitting in the Rockbell's living room, studying it carefully. The door clicked open and she turned to focus on the blonde who was walking into the room. Winry put a small tray down on the table next to the couch and sat down beside Emily.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Uh...yeah. I think...maybe not...I don't know..."

"What do you mean?" asked Winry, giving Emily a weird look.

"Well, um...I think I'm hallucinating, but I'm not sure."

"Why would you be hallucinating?" asked the blonde, confusion evident on her face.

"Well, for one thing, Winry Rockbell is sitting next to me. And I also seem to be in a fictional town."

"Fictional town?"

"Yes. I believe I'm in a book. Perhaps this is a dream."

"Um, I can tell your now that you probably aren't dreaming. Where are you from?"

"Illinois."

"Wheres that?"

"America."

"Never heard of it."

"See? That just strengthens my theory." Emily claimed, giving a sigh.

"It can't. If you were dreaming, I wouldn't be real. And I know I'm real." Winry stated, giving a smile.

"Then how could I have possibly ended up here? In a place that shouldn't exist?"

"Well...I can't answer that. But maybe Ed and Al can help you figure it out."

"Ed and Al?" she asked, brushing some hair back. "As in, Edward and Alphonse Elric?"

"M-hmm. There's no other!" Winry replied with a smile. "They'll be arriving in a day or so. You can ask them for help."

"Would they even help me?" Emily wondered.

"Trust me, I'll make sure they do."

Emily gave a nervous laugh as Winry ripped out a wrench and hit it against her hand. "Why the wrench?"

"Oh, no reason. I'll go make lunch!" the blonde said, disappearing into the kitchen.

* * *

When Alice woke up, the sun was bright and blinding. From the way it was situated, she assumed it was morning. She hadn't planned on sleeping _that_ long. It was around then that she realized that her head wasn't resting on wood. It was something much softer. She glanced up to see that she had been resting on Edward's shoulder. She quickly pulled back, her face bright red. Luckily, the blonde alchemist was still fast asleep. She quickly turned to see that Armstrong was reading the paper. Good, that meant there were no witnesses. Then the paper came down with a loud rustle, revealing a crying Armstrong.

"Aw, young love," he sighed.

"Gah!," Alice squeaked, her face becoming even redder than it already was..

"Ah, you're awake Miss Smith. That's good, because we're here."

"Already?" asked Ed, causing Alice to give a little shriek and leap back in her seat.

"Oh my god! How long have you been awake?" She cried, a hand pressed against her chest.

"I just woke up..." he said, looking at her like she had gr

"Oh, wait," mumbled Armstrong, leaning towards the window. "This isn't our stop. Sorry about that-" Suddenly Armstong jumped up, sticking his head out the window.

"Dr. Marcoh! It is I, Alex Louis Armstrong! Are you not Dr. Marcoh?" Alice blinked, turning to look at Ed, who in turn ignored her.

"Do you know him?" asked Ed.

"Yes. He is a very capable alchemist from a research agency in Central. He researched medical alchemy but disappeared after the war."

"Lets get off," Ed demanded, jumping up and heading for the door.

"What?" cried Armstrong, "Don't we get off at Resembool?"

"If that guy researched what you said he did, he might know something about human transmutation. We have to unload Al! Hurry up!" he yelled, leaping out the door. Armstrong was right behind him. Alice followed, a bit slower because she wasn't use to these she stepped off, she heard Ed yelling at Al because he stunk of sheep. Armstrong picked up Al's box and they after the man. Every so often Edward or Armstrong would go up to someone and ask if they knew someone named Marcoh. After almost half an hour of asking, Alice got impatient and grabbed the back of Ed's jacket.

"What?" he asked, glaring at her.

"Ask for Dr. Marco. You'll find him."

"What? Marco? But his name is Marcoh."

"Trust me, ask for Dr. Marco."

"And just why should I trust someone like you?" Ed asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Just trust me!" Alice cried in exasperation. She wasn't used to people doubting her like this. "I wasn't with Scar, alright? I have nothing to do with him!"

"And this conversation has nothing to do with Scar." he growled.

"But that's why you don't trust me! I had nothing to do with him, I've done nothing to harm you. At least give me the benefit of the doubt and trust me just this once!" she was extremely irritated now, completely ready to slap the alchemist across the face.

"I only trust people who earn it. But since I want to get this over with, I'll try it. It because I'm in a hurry, not because I trust you!" Ed turned around in a huff, walking over to the Major to pass on the information.

The Major seemed to be all for the idea and the next person he asked immediately knew who they wanted and told them exactly where to go. It didn't take very long to get to his house and Alice was annoyed that they hadn't gotten there sooner. Edward strode past her, banging on the flew open, revealing a gun wielding Dr. Marcoh. Alice let out a scream, dropping to the ground and covering her head as the gun went off. Ed let out a cry of surprise, diving to the side. Armstrong stepped forward.

"Please, calm down Doctor." he said, looking unfazed.

"Did you come to take me back?" yelled Marcoh, sounding panicky. "I don't want to go back there! Please, just let me be..."

"That's not true," Armstrong replied."Listen to me."

"Then did you come to silence me?"

"No. Please put the gun do-"

"I won't be fooled!"

"I said listen!" yelled Armstrong, throwing Alphonse's and his box at Marcoh.

"Oh god...they just keep getting crazier..."Alice mumbled while Ed stared at the scene like he was about to pass out. Ed and the Major headed inside but Alice stayed out on the steps. She wanted to, but she didn't trust herself. And Edward didn't trust her either, if the look he had given her before going in was any indication. She wasn't sure she could keep from shouting out the truth if she was sitting there. And Ed apparently didn't want her sitting there at all. So she sat on the steps in front of the door, waiting for them to come out. About ten minutes later, a very angry Edward stomped out of the house, almost trampling her. Armstrong followed, carrying Al. Once she got over her shock, she quickly leapt up and raced off to catch up.

Back at the train station, Ed and Armstrong took the bench, leaving Alice to sit on the ground beside Al's box. Armstong was currently asking Edward if he would have stolen the stone when Marcoh could be seen running towards them. He walked up to them, gasping and holding up a white envelope. He went up to Ed and handed it to him.

"This is the place where the research files are hidden. Look at this if you won't regret learning the truth. And if it's you, you will uncover the truth behind truths." Ed looked at him but he shook his head. "I've said too much. I pray you two get your bodies back." And with that he left. Ed stared after him for a moment before he bowed. Armstrong stared to cry and Al and Alice just kinda stared.

"So...When does the train come in? asked Alice.

"It should be here soon." said Armstrong.

"Joy."

"Joy? Why would you say that?" asked Ed, sounding like he was scrutinizing her.

"It's called sarcasm." she stated, frowning.

"Oh."

After an ungodly amount of awkward silence, the train rolled in. Alice climbed on regretfully. She had only been here for two days and so far everone she met seem to have escaped from the nut house. She didn't think she wanted to meet anyone else. This place was just too crazy.

* * *

***EDITED: JANUARY 7-8, 2011***

**SCA: Finally! I'm done! I worked extra hard to try and make it longer!**

**Ed: Well...I guess you didn't fail this time.**

**SCA: grrrrrr**

**Emily:Uh...why is Al riding a horse?**

**Alice: What? No! Eagle! -runs off to save horse-**

**SCA: Uh, ok then. Anyway, next time, they will finally arrive in Resembool!**

**Emily: Finally**

**SCA: Shut up**

**Emily: make me**

**SCA: maybe I will**

**Emily: sure**

**SCA: your mom!**

**Emily: your moms chest hair on youtube!**

**Ed: ew...**

**Winry: Anyway...please review!**


	4. I'll take the horse please

**SCA: And we're-**

**Ed: Don't you dare**

**SCA: Wha? Why not?**

**Ed: Its annoying, hearing that everytime. Think of something else.**

**SCA: B-but, I can't! -cries-**

**Ed: Gah! Hey, stop crying!**

**Emily: ohmigosh**

**Al: -sighs- The sugar-crazed alchemist doesn't own FMA or iPods.**

**Let the chapter begin!**

***EDITED: JANUARY 8-13, 2011***

**

* * *

**

_Chapter 4: I'll take the horse please_

_

* * *

_

"Allie! Allie! Come back!"

"What?" Alice looked around, confused. She wasn't quite sure where she was, but it looked a lot like the locker rooms of her school's gym. The voice...that was familiar as well. But just who was it?

"Who's there?"

"Me of course!" the voice called, coming closer. "Who else would I be?"

"That doesn't tell me anything!" Alice cried, standing up. She had been sitting on one of the benches without realizing it.

"Oh fine. Gee, Allie. You take the fun out of everything! It's me, the lovely -!"

Alice waited, staring at the locker in front of her. When it was clear the person wasn't going to repeat what they had said, she spoke up.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that..."

"See? That's what you get for listening to loud music all the time. I said, it's me, -." the voice replied, coming from the other side of the block of lockers Alice was in.

She tilted her head a bit, narrowing her eyes. Was the person really not saying their name? Or could she just not hear it? Why couldn't she hear it? Alice strode around the lockers, opening her mouth to tell the person to stop messing around. The words died in her throat as she arrived at her destination. There was a girl sitting on the bench, right in front of Alice's locker actually. She had long blonde hair, pulled back in a ponytail. The girl turned as Alice walked closer.

"Geez Allie, took you long enough. What were you doing over there anyway?" Alice almost screamed. The girl had no face. She was speaking, she even sounded like she was smiling, and she had no face. Alice wasn't sure if this was real or if she was seeing things, so she voiced her observation.

"Of course I have a face silly." the girl replied, standing up. "How could I not have a face? Now hurry up and get dressed. - is waiting for us."

Again with the missing names. Something told her that she knew this girl, that she was important, close to her. That she should have a face and a name. And yet she had neither. Alice couldn't figure out why the girl seemed so familiar. Wringing her hands, Alice stepped back a bit.

"Do I know you?" she asked. The girl in front of her froze, turning to stare at her. Or at least, she assumed the blonde was staring. It was hard to tell when there was no face.

"What kind of question is that Alice? Of course you know me. We're practically sisters."

"I-I don't know...I can't seem...to reme-" Alice was cut off by a rude shaking. But the girl was no where near her. So who was doing the shaking? Another voice drifted into the locker room, commanding her to 'wake up now or die.' But how was she supposed to wake herself up? It didn't work like that. But then the lockers, and the girl, melted away, shifting to darkness. Understanding that she was now awake and just hadn't opened her eyes yet, she did so, looking around.

Edward was sitting beside her, his hand on her shoulder, his eyes glinting with anger.

"Can I help you?" Alice muttered groggily, rubbing her eyes.

"Yes. Since Armstrong is gone for the moment, why don't you try and give me proof that you're not lying?" he replied, his eye's narrowing.

"Proof?"

"Yes, proof. Proof that you're not connected to Scar. Give me a reason to trust you. And don't waste my time either. You should consider yourself lucky I'm giving you this chance."

Alice glared at him sitting up. "Lucky? Why on Earth should I consider myself lucky that you're giving me a chance? If you have such a problem with me, then take care of it. I don't need you to survive."

"Don't be so sure about that. You don't know where anything is, right Miss 'I've-never-been-to-Amestris-before'?" Ed countered, smirking at her. Alice twitched in anger, her hands shaking with the urge to slap the cocky blonde. To think she had considered him a bishie!

"Alright" she growled, pulling a dollar bill out of her wallet, "You want proof? I'll give you proof. This will be exhibit A. The American dollar bill."

"That could easily be forged." Edward scoffed, pushing it away.

"Fine, then here's exhibit B. The iPod," she stated, holding it up for Ed to see. "This is a purple, 8 GB, 4th generation iPod nano. It's an electronic device made specifically for music listening but can also be used for T.V watching, App using, timing, and gaming. I received it from my grandparents about two years ago." she looked up at Ed, glaring at him through her lashes. "I'll tell you right now, I am not smart enough to make something like this. It's way too complicated. Go ahead and look at it. Isn't this at least a bit of proof?"

Edward took it, turning it over and over in his hands, studying it. When it looked like he was going to take it apart, Alice snatched it back, stuffing it in her pocket.

"Well?"

Ed stared at her, his eye's narrowed a bit. After what seemed like an eternity, he turned away.

"Well, I'll admit that that...iPod thing is extremely strange. Something that we definitely don't have here. Because of that, I'll believe your story about being from this..."America" place. For now. But." he held up a finger, turning to look at her. "That doesn't mean you have my complete trust. You only have a small fraction of it. Remember that."

"Fine. It's not like I was asking for it anyway." Alice replied, turning to look out the window with a frown.

"Good, you're both awake. We'll be arriving in Resembool in a few minutes."

Alice and Edward both glanced up to find Armstong hovering over them, a newspaper held in his hand. The muscular man seemingly oblivious to the tension between the two teens as he reached for his bag.

**~X~**

Ten minutes later found the three walking down a dirt road, Alphonse hitching a ride on the Major's shoulder.

"God," Alice muttered softly. "And I thought riding a horse was bad**.(2) **I didn't think my butt could hurt so much!"

"Oh shut up," Ed growled, just as softly. "It was just a train."

"Yeah, but the trains back home are all soft and fluffy compared to that thing."

"I thought you had never ridden a train before?"

"I haven't, but I know people who have."

"Oh. Hey, Armstrong, that's the house up there." he said, somehow pointing to the yellow house without dropping his suitcase. Alice didn't understand how he could do such a thing.

"Hey Winry! Our regulars are here!" Alice looked up to see a little old woman standing in front of the yellow house, a dog sitting beside her. Ed came to a stop ahead of her.

"Granny Pinako! I'm gonna need your help again!" Pinako just smiled as the group walked up to the house. Armstrong set Al down and Ed began the introductions.

"Granny, this is Major Armstrong."

"Nice to meet you," She said, shaking Armstrongs hand. "I'm Pinako Rockbell. And who's this?" She asked, turning to Alice.

"This is Alice Smith." Alice shook her hand, trying to ignore the fact that Ed's voice held thinly veiled anger as he said her name.

"So," said Pinako, "This your girlfriend?" Or maybe that was just her who could hear the anger. Alice and Ed both turned beet red before they started shouting denials. They were interrupted by a flying, silver object which crashed into Ed's head. Alice stared in shock, her irritation momentarily forgotten.

"How many times do I have to tell you to call before you come in for maintenance!"

Alice looked up to find a blonde haired girl, who she assumed was Winry Rockbell, standing on the upstairs porch.

"Winry you jerk!" Ed yelled, suddenly jumping up, "You coulda killed me!"

Winry just laughed. "Welcome back!"

A few minutes later, they were all sitting(or standing) in the house. Winry turned to Alice while Ed and Pinako yelled at each other about heights.

"So, whats your name?"

"I'm Alice Smith." Alice held out her hand. Winry took it, smiling.

"I'm Winry Rockbell. You know, you look a lot like the girl that's staying with us."

"I do?" asked Alice, surprised,"What's her name?"

"Her name's Emily Hill."

"What?" Alice cried, sitting up. She froze, realizing that everyone was staring at her(or glaring in Edward's case). She mumbled a quick apologize before she turned back to blonde seated beside her. "Where is she at?"

"Well, she's still asleep at the moment."

"I don't care. What room?"

"Upstairs, last room on the left."

Alice could feel everyone watching her as she ran up the stairs, but she ignored them. She was good at that. She sped down the hall, throwing her arms out to stop herself when she came to the aforementioned door. She threw it open, spotting the lump on the bed right away. She strode over to it, violently throwing the blanket back.

"Ugh...five more minutes..." the girl mumbled, rolling over.

"Emily Grace Hill!" Alice hissed. "I am not your mother. Now get up!." The girl gave a grunt but made no move to get up. Alice sighed, leaning forward and jabbing her fingers into Emily's sides. Emily's eyes shot open and she sat up with a yelp.

"God Allie! Don't poke me! How many times do I have...wait...Allie?"

"Yep."

"Seriously? Alice?" Alice nodded," Wait, I need proof."

"Huh? Proof? Wh- EKK!" Alice fell back, holding her side, "How dare you poke me!"

Emily started laughing before she climbed out of the bed and hugged her friend.

"Uh, Emily?" said Alice, raising an eyebrow. "Are you feeling ok? I mean, usually you're not huggy like this."

"I know. I'm just glad your here."

"Well, I'm glad I'm so loved." she replied, hugging her back with a smile. For now, Ed's pissy attitude didn't matter. Neither did Armstrong's creepyness or Al's lost of metal limbs or how insane this place seemed to be. None of it mattered, because she wasn't alone anymore.

* * *

***EDITED: JANUARY 8- 13, 2011***

**(2): If you have ever riden a trotting or running horse, you'll know what I mean. **

**SCA:Done! Yay!**

**Ed: Finally**

**SCA: Shut up Ed. You should be lucky I didn't make this a yoai.**

**Ed: Ugh...thank goodness -eye twitch-**

**Alice: Please review!**

**Al: What are we giving them?**

**Emily: Um...what about Roy plushies?**

**Ed: Who'd want those?**

**Alice: You'd be surprised**

**Al: We'll give you Roy plushies!**


	5. Got music?

**SCA: Hi everyone!**

**Ed: Finally**

**SCA:Shut up shrimp**

**Ed: I'M NOT A FREAKIN' SHRIMP!**

**SCA: Yeah, yeah, keep telling your self that**

**Ed: Grrrrr**

**Al: SCA doesn't own FMA. **

**And let the chapter begin!**

***EDITED: January 13-15, 2011***

**

* * *

**

_Chapter 5: Got music?_

_

* * *

_

It had been an hour since Alice had gone charging into the Rockbell's guestroom. But only a few words had traveled through the air, a shock considering that the rooms other occupant was her best friend. But Emily claimed she was sleepy and too lazy to get up and Alice found that she agreed with her. So Emily had stayed in bed, curling up under the covers while Alice was sprawled out on the floor, snuggling with a blanket she had swiped from the elder's bed(While Alice didn't like to admit it, Emily was a month older than her).

After a while of vegetating, the two convinced themselves to go downstairs. The living room was empty when they got there but a little exploring showed that Al, Winry, and Pinako were in the back part of the house, working in the automail room. They found Armstrong in the backyard, cutting wood. Edward had gone off to see Trisha Elric's grave and Den had gone with him. As sad as the alchemist's trip was, Alice was glad he was gone for the moment. The tension she felt when speaking with him was almost sickening.

Figuring that there was nothing worth doing inside, the two went outside and sat down in the grass. Emily sighed and leaned back on her hands. Alice laid down on the grass, one arm on her stomach, the other covering her eyes.

"So..." Emily muttered, trying to start a conversation.

"So...just how did you get here?" asked Alice, squinting in the sunlight as she moved her hand to her forehead. Only seconds later she moved her hand back, realizing how horrible a decision that had been.

"No idea." Emily replied. "I just had this headache. It was worse than any others I've had before. I guess I passed out or something. When I woke up, I was here."

"Hmm...that's pretty much what happened to me." Alice commented.

"Strange."

"Yeah...you know, I've been wondering...not much, but a little. Do you remember any of the things I've told you about this...series?"

"Yeah, some. Why?"

Alice narrowed her eyes, her brow furrowing. "Well, if you remember the whole 'you go through the gate, you pay for it' thing...then why haven't we paid?"

"I remember that..." Emily muttered, tilting her head back. "Does it matter? I'd rather not lose a limb. Stop thinking so much, Allie."

"Eh...fine." Alice mumbled, sitting up. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "I have a song stuck in my head."

"And what song is it?"

"The Cave."

"That's a pretty good song." Emily said, straightening up. "Why is it stuck in your head?"

"Dunno." said Alice. "But you know what they say. If you sing a song out loud, it will get stuck in someone else's head and leave you alone."

"Oh geez, don't tell me you're going to start singing."

Alice just smiled, turning to look at the tree in the yard.

_"It's empty in the valley of your heart.  
The sun, it rises slowly as you walk,  
Away from all the fears and all the faults you've left behind.  
The harvest left no food for you to eat.  
You cannibal, you meat-eater you see.  
But I have seen the same,  
I know the shame in your defeat."_

Emily let out a defeated laugh before joining her in song.

_"I will hold on hope.  
And I won't let you choke on the noose around your neck.  
And I'll find strength in pain.  
And I will change my ways.  
I'll know my name as it's called again."_

_"'Cuz I have other things to fill my time.  
You take what is yours and I'll take mine.  
Now let me at the truth which will refresh my broken mind.  
So tie me to a post and block my ears.  
I can see-"_

"What are you two doing?" A male voice interrupted. Both girls stopped their singing to see Ed standing there, watching them. Emily gave him a small smile while Alice avoided looking at him.

"Hello there!" greeted Emily,"Alice had a song stuck in her head and started singing it. I just joined her."

"Oh. What were you singing?" he asked, as Alice glared at Emily who in turn gave her a look. Alice forced herself to turn to Ed and give him an answer.

"The Cave by Mumford & Sons."

"That sounds...strange." the blonde commented.

"It's great." she replied dryly.

Emily just nodded in agreement.

* * *

The first thing Alice saw when she opened her eyes was white. The walls, the floor, the ceiling, everything. She looked around, too surprised to move. She flinched when she heard footsteps and turned to see a blonde haired, somewhat tall, girl standing there. It was the girl from before, the one with no face.

"Allie!" the girl cried, flinging herself at her. "Where have you been?"

"I...I don't...who?" Alice muttered, feeling very dazed and girl tilted her head a bit, probably studying her. Alice desperately wished she could see her face.

"Don't start this again, Alice. Now isn't the time."

"I-I'm sorry!" she exclaimed nervously. "But...I know you! I know I know you! I just...can't see your face...or hear your name."

"Of course you can't." Alice stiffened as the familiar voice was replaced by cold, almost terrifying one.

"Who?" She froze. The faceless girl now had a smile. A smile she knew.

"Ah, you recognize me then?" it said is a calm, echoing tone. It released her and stood up, changing forms as it moved. A soft blue light swirled around it as the detailed body of her forgotten friend was replaced by white, genderless one.

"Truth?" she whispered, unsure. He, or it, just grinned.

"Did you really think I had forgotten about you?" he asked, "Did you really think you didn't have to pay? Oh you will. Trust me, you will."

"W-what? When?"

"Now why would I tell you that? It ruins all the fun! You'll just have to wait and see. Both you, and your little friend. Now," he said, stepping back, his grin changing to a smirk. "Have a fun trip." He gave her a little wave and started to back away.

Alice blinked, narrowing her eyes in confusion. She was about to ask why when she heard a soft groan behind her. She slowly turned around to see a large set of floating doors. They were ivory color and covered with carvings. Something in the back of her mind told that she knew what the doors were. That very same thing told her to run like hell. But she wasn't fast enough.

The huge doors swung open, revealing a huge eye surrounded by moving shadows that slunk out towards her. Alice let out a scream as she tried to scoot away. The black shadows slithered over her, grabbing her and pulling her in. She screamed again, clawing at the ground and at the doors. Anything to keep her from going in.

"Help!" she cried, her horrified mind unable to come up with anything better.

"Oh shut up. No one can hear you anyway." Another scream escaped her lips as the doors of the gate closed, trapping her inside.

**~X~**

She woke up in the guestroom, panting, her hair sticking to her sweating forehead. She sat up, trying to catch her breath when she realized Emily was staring at her nervously.

"Allie? You ok?"

"Uh...maybe. Yes...no...I don't know!" she let out a sigh, pushing her damp hair back. "Emily, there's something I gotta tell you."

* * *

***EDITED: JANUARY 13-15, 2011***

**SCA: Well, how is it? And yes, I know its not as long as last time, but I promise to try and make the next chapter longer!**

**Ed: Sure you will**

**SCA: Ed...**

**Ed: What?**

**SCA: Shutup**

**Ed: Fine -sticks tongue out-**

**SCA: Grr...**

**Al: What are we giving reviewers this time?**

**Emily:I have no idea. Alice come up with something**

**Alice: wha? Why me?**

**Emily: Just do it**

**Alice: Fine, how bout Al plushies?**

**Emily: That works. Please review!**

**By the way, there will be a time skip next chapter! Just a little warning! :D**


	6. The Idiots Guide to Trust

**SCA: Hello everyone!**

**Emily: Hello people!**

**SCA: Ok, as I said last time, there's a time skip this time!**

**Ed: Why?**

**SCA: Cuz I didn't feel like writing about a train ride and meeting the bookworm**

**Ed: *Cough*lazy*cough***

**SCA: Shut up! -hits Ed with the keyboard-**

**Ed: Hey! That hurt!**

**SCA: Its supposed to! Anyway, I'd like to thank all my reviewers! I'm not gonna type out your names this time, but you brighten my life! XD**

**Emily: Sure**

**SCA: Emily, just for that, you have to do the disclaimer**

**Emily: Fine...SCA doesn't own FMA (Ed: Be glad she doesn't! SCA: Hey!)**

**SCA: Anyway, this chapter starts in Central. Ed and Al have been researching the code for the stone and Em and Alice have been cooped up in the hotel, so here we go!**

***EDITED: JANUARY 15, 2011***

* * *

_Chapter 6: Are you trying to kill me? _

* * *

It was 8:30 in the morning and Emily was fast asleep in the bed she and Alice had been sharing for the past week. Alice was standing at the end of the bed, Ed and Al standing in front of her, getting ready to leave. The four had arrived in Central a week ago. When they first got there, Ed was practically bouncing off the walls. Then they found out that the first branch had burned down. After that they met the Bookworm. She had this mental thing where she remembered everything she ever read. So she created an exact copy of Dr. Marco's notes for them. Only thing was that they were written in code. So Ed and Al had spent that last week couped up in the library trying to figure it out while Alice and Emily were stuck at the hotel.

The former now stood in the dimly lit room, her hands clenched as she watched Edward pull his jacket on. The tension she had felt around him at the Rockbell's was nearly gone. But she knew that Ed's trust for her hadn't grown at all. Unless there was something she didn't know about...She still wasn't sure what to do.

"Hey Ed...uh, maybe you should take a break." Alice offered quietly. She waved her hands in a panic as he turned and gave her a look.

"Ok! Maybe just an hour or so. You look exhausted. I don't think it would be too good if you passed out at the library."

"She's right, Brother. You look really tired."

"No, Al. I'm not stopping when we're this close."

"Alright, " Alice sighed, "But at least drink some coffee or something. Make sure he does, Al?"

"I will. See you later Alice."

Alice waved to them as they left the room. As soon as the door clicked shut she slumped down on the bed. They had been with the Elric's for almost two weeks now. And it didn't seem to be getting any better. She supposed that asking for trust after two weeks was a lot but still...Yes, she was still worrying about the trust issues Edward had with her. She just couldn't stop obsessing over it. But she had her reasons. Alice was absolutely positive that Ed's trust for her hadn't risen at all since the train ride, and yet he seem to have no trouble at all trusting Emily. Just what was she doing wrong? Was all of this really because of Scar? Or did Ed just happen to hate her?

She sighed, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees. Alice knew that she shouldn't be so bothered by this, that if she was in the blondes shoes she would probably react the same way. Truth was, she knew exactly way she was acting like this. Never before had she ever had to work so hard for one persons trust. People had always just...liked her. Plenty of people had told her that she was just so "innocent and well-behaved and trust-worthy." But maybe she deserved having Ed act like this. Perhaps it was a test of some sort, or a message, telling her that faith didn't come easily.

"But it always does!" she cried out in anger. "They always trust me! They always have faith! Why else would I act like I do?"

"What the hell are you going on about?"

Alice flinched. She had forgotten that Emily was in the room with her. "Sorry Em," she said, turning and giving her friend an embarrassed smile."Didn't mean to wake you up."

"I'm guessing you're not going to tell me what you were ranting about?"

"Uh...maybe later?"

"Fine. We're going to get out of this hotel room and we're going to go get some sort of caffeinated drink and you're going to tell me what you were screaming about." Emily stated, crossing her arms and nodding decidedly.

"Alright, alright. As long as we talk about other stuff too."

"Of course."

"Good. Get dressed then we can leave."

**~X~**

It had been almost three hours since her outburst that had ended up rousing Emily from slumber. The two had been wandering around Central for a while, just talking about random things. Eventually, they had remembered the reason for leaving the hotel room in the first place and had found a nice looking cafe. They were now sitting in the outside part of a cafe with a French name that neither of them could pronounce, sipping coffee.

Emily of course, had remembered her informational needs and Alice had just finished trying to explain. Thankfully, the two best friends had minds that could have belonged to twins and Emily had easily understood what Alice was freaking out over. Now that the awkward part was over, Alice decided to lighten the mood in the only way she could. Gossip and relationship interrogation at it's finest.

"Hey, Em?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you feel about Alphonse?" Alice asked, leaning forward with a slight smirk.

"How do you feel about Ed?" Emily shot back, raising an eyebrow.

"Do I really need to answer that?" Alice blushed as her friend gave a smile.

"Hmm...well, pushing all your trust issues out of the way, you've had a crush on that boy ever since you started reading Fullmetal Alchemist."

"Hurgh...yeah. Now answer my question."

"Fine. He's...nice. And he likes cats. But I wouldn't say I like him." Emily said thoughtfully, stirring her coffee.

"Oh? Well, that makes everything lame."

"He's a fictional character, Allie. That sort of thing doesn't happen. You've liked Edward for years but you still admit that he's not real. Unlike some Edward Cullen fans."

"I know. But still."

Emily rolled her eyes and smiled. Alice just sighed, pushing her dark-brown hair out of her face and slumping over on the table.

"I want to go ho-" Alice started to say, only to be cut off as Maria Ross ran up to them.

"What is it?" asked Emily, glancing up in surprise.

"They've done it!" she gasped. "They decoded it!"

"What?" Alice exclaimed. "Already?"

"Yes! Come on!"

Alice and Emily looked at each other before shrugging and following Ross back to the hotel.

* * *

Ed was pacing the hotel room and Al was sitting on the couch, looking over a bunch of papers. Emily was sitting on the edge of her bed, Alice sprawled out behind her, following Ed with their eyes like they were watching a tennis match. Suddenly Edward stopped pacing and strode over to Al, grabbing one of the papers. He started to say something when they heard it. Heavy footsteps were coming closer to the room and the sound of crying could be heard. The ever emotional Armstrong had arrived.

"Quiet!" Ed hissed,"Act like we're not here." Everyone nodded, not wanting to experience a life draining Armstrong hug. But it was not meant to be. Armstrong broke the door down after no one answered and he immediately ran forward, pulling Ed into a bone crushing embrace while rambling on about bravery and love. Finally, he dropped the half dead alchemist on the floor and the other two soldiers walked in. They instantly began making excuses to a very pissed looking Edward when they were cut off by Armstrong.

"The truth can be so cruel." he said, tears still pouring out his eyes in waterfall sized streams.

Ed stiffened. "The truth..." he muttered.

"What's wrong Big Brother?" asked Al, turning to look at him.

"Do you remember what Marcoh told us at the station?"

"Huh?"

"Remember? He said 'The truth behind truths'. So there must be something more."

Armstrong studied at him for a moment before whipping out a large map.(2)

"Presently the military oversees four alchemical labs within Central City. The one Dr. Marcoh was involved with was Lab 3. That is most likely where the research took place."

"Hmmmm. Wait...Over here, what's this building?" Ed asked, pointing to a spot on the map. Ross looked at it before pulling out a book and flipping it open.

"That used to be a fifth research lab but they shut it down. Currently, it's off limits due to danger of collapse."

"That's our place." said Ed.

"How do you know?" asked Brosh.

"Look," said Ed, pointing to map."Its right next to the prison. The main ingredient of the stone is live human beings. If I'm not mistaken, the bodies of prisoners aren't returned to their families, right? So they make it appear as if the death row convict was killed for his crimes but really, they just shipped him to Lab 5 to be used in experiments."

"The prisoners...are the ingredients?" asked Emily, looking slightly sick.

"Don't look at me like that. I feel sick just explaining it."

"So the governments in on this too?" asked Brosh.

"No, it's possible that they were acting on their own and the government had no idea about it. I'm going to look into this, alright? And the Elrics will stay put! That goes for you two as well, Miss Smith, Miss Hill."

"Don't worry, Major." said Al, "We'll wait for your report."

**~X~**

And lo and behold, the night found them scaling the wall of the military hotel, escaping their room on on a rope made of sheets. Al climbed out first, then it was Alice's turn. She walked up to the window and stuck her head out, looking down. She had never had much of a problem with heights, but usually she didn't have to go down a wall from the third floor without a harness.

She took a deep breath before she swung her leg over the sill, sitting on it. She grabbed the makeshift rope before swinging the other leg over. Don't look down, she told herself, Don't look down. She slid off the windowsill and out into open air. It took every ounce of her being to keep from screaming bloody murder. She swung for what felt like years before she got her feet planted against the wall. She began to walk down the wall as best she could, pushing off it lightly.

All too soon she made it to the end of the rope. An end that was too far away from the ground for her comfort. Her feet were at least five feet up. Taking a shaky breath, she let go. She bent her knees as she fell and managed to land without injuring herself. Emily followed her, looking a bit freaked out and Ed quickly came down after her.

They snuck through Central like they were being watched by someone. They weren't but that's paranoia for you. After sneaking around for a good fifteen minutes, they came to the huge wall that surrounded the desolate Lab 5. Emily and Alice gawked at it. It was a little over ten feet high, and there was electrical wire attached to the top. Edward and Alphonse did a team-up gymnastics move the sent Ed to the top where he pulled apart and deactivated the wire. He let the wire down for them to climb up with. This time Emily went first; it didn't take long for her to get up there but it took a little longer for her to jump off. Ed watched the other invisible side for a moment then motioned for Alice to climb up.

Alice gripped the deactivated wire and began to walk up the wall. It didn't take very long but when she looked down at Emily she wished she had stayed at the hotel. It seemed so far down!

"Come on!" said Ed, "If you don't hurry up, I'll push you off."

"Are you trying to kill me?" Alice hissed, the irritation caused by the supposedly gone tension back in full force. Apparently he was because he reached over shoved her off the wall. She bit her lip to keep from shrieking and threw her arms out in a reflexive manner. Luckily she managed to twist at the last second and landed without killing herself. She'd have bruises but she'd live. Maybe.

"Are you alright!" cried Emily, running over and helping her up.

"I'm fine," she said as Al and Ed landed. "But the bloody shrimp was trying to kill me!"

"No I wasn't! And who are you calling a shrimp? I'm taller than you!"

"So? I'm younger than you!"

"So!"

"Come on," said Al, "We're wasting time!"

* * *

***EDITED JANUARY 15, 2011***

**(2)-I know its kinda non-descriptive, but that's what happens in the manga and I didn't feel like coming up with something.**

**Yay! Chapter 6 is finished! Right before band starts too. Man, I'm not looking forward to THAT. :( Anyway, you might be wondering why I don't the conversation thing going on. I've decided not to do that anymore. At least not at the end. Unless you like those? I'll only keep doing them if...6 people tell me they like them. If not, then I'll just do these. I'll still have one character with me to tell you reviewers what you'll be getting! And about band starting, thanks to that, I might not be able to update as much. But I'm not sure. I will try my best! Anyhoo, heres Roy to tell you what you'll get if you review! -hands Roy a piece of paper-**

**Roy:Uh...You get chocolate bunnies**

**So please review! Just hit that little button and the bunnies are yours!**

**

* * *

**

**Ok, I know that I never do this but my friend asked me too and since its really good, I did. I am advertising a story! xD**

_**Iron Man: The Riley Stark Adventures by superherofan95**_

_****__I stink at summaries. Riley Stark is a 15 year old w_ho is Tony Stark's younger sister. She's been having dreams about Edward Cullen, but she doesn't know that's his name yet until one day, she draws him and changes everything.

**It's a Iron Man and Twilight crossover, but you don't have to watch Iron Man before you watch it. I didn't. ;) Anyway, anyone who reads it gets TWO chocolate bunnies! XD**


	7. Property Damage with a Side of Pain

**SCA: I'm back people! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while! I was on vacation and my beta(Emily) was on vacation and we both had band. So now I'm finally updating! But feel free to send ninjas. I'm hoping to creat an unbeatable ninja army led by Sasuke Enchalata. Now if you want to know the origin of that name, feel free to ask. I you don't want too, then just wonder the rest of your life. :D**

**Ed: Ya know, you're very strange...**

**SCA: Thank you!**

**Ed: That wasn't a complement**

**SCA: Oh well! Roy! Do the disclaimer!**

**Roy: SCA doesn't own FMA**

**On with the chapter!**

***EDITED MAY 8, 2011* (PLEASE IGNORE ALL THESE STUPID AUTHORS NOTES. THX.)**

* * *

_Chapter 7: Property Damage with a Side of Pain_

* * *

The Unfab Four were currently running around Lab 5, trying to find a way in. So far they hadn't had much luck; the only door was locked and guarded and all the windows were too high for even Al to reach. Edward suddenly skidded to a halt and pointed to an air vent a couple feet above his head. The others came to a stop around him and looked up at it. After a few moments of studying, Al nodded and moved forward to remove the cover. Emily watched as he worked, nodding a bit as well. Alice on the other hand, was watching Al as if he were punching a baby.

"Uh...Isn't there another way?" Alice asked. Ed turned to glare at her.

"No. There isn't."

"I'm sure there is! We just aren't looking hard enough!"

"Trust me," Ed replied, not bothering to look at her. "This is the only way in."

"It can't be! Why can't we just blow a hole in the wall?"

"Hmmm, I actually hadn't thought of that..."

"Brother!" Al dropped the vent cover, appalled.

"Property Damage."

"What?" The three turned to look at Emily, who had a bored look on her face.

"Property Damage. If we put a whole in the wall, we'll get arrested for property damage."

"Uh...Em, I don't think this is the time...And didn't we already commit property damage when Ed destroyed the wire fence?" Alice grumbled. Suddenly her eyes widened and she turned to her friend. "Hey, do they even have that here? I mean, this is Amestris! They're way back in like, 1910 and stuff. I don't think they had that kind of stuff back then! Right?"

"I dunno. Maybe?"

Alice sighed, shaking her head.

"By the way, it's 1915."

"What?" The two girls asked in unison, glancing at the blonde alchemist.

"1915. The year is 1915." Ed repeated, giving them a look. "Can we just get going?"

"Fine."

"Al, can you help me out?" Ed asked, pointing to the vent. Al nodded before lifting Ed up. The blonde crawled in and Al turned to help Emily up. When he turned back for Alice, she flinched back, shaking her head rapidly.

"No. I don't do small spaces."

"Well, I guess you can help me find another entrance."

"That works."

**~X~**

The two brave enough to enter through the air vent were now running down a dimly lit hallway. Emily had already pointed out that Alice hadn't followed them in like she was supposed to, but Ed hadn't seemed to care. Perhaps there was more to this trusting obsession Alice had then she had originally thought.

Edward raced on ahead of her, as if he had a destination in mind. She wasn't quite sure how that was possible but she figured she was better off with him. With this piece of wisdom in mind, she sped up in an attempt to catch up to the alchemist. The halls they were passing though were considerably dim and Emily kept expecting to trip. Thankfully she didn't. But she did almost run into a wall when Ed pulled a sharp turn without any forewarning. She skidded to a messy stop before she turned into the room Ed had entered. It was an obnoxiously huge room with lots of pillars holding up the ceiling and there were little round stump things scattered across the room. Emily squinted, looking closer to see that the stumps where actually in a circle, not just randomly placed as she had first thought. Ed had come to a stop a few feet ahead and was slowly turning in a circle, studying the room.

Emily stiffened as the sound of footsteps echoed around them, the source of the sound directly across from them on the other side of the room. She began to panic. Shadowy, obnoxious rooms with echoey footsteps were never good.

The footsteps continued to get louder and louder, until their owner was out of the shadows and fully visible. It seemed to be an Asian styled suit of armor. Maybe something an ancient samurai would have worn? It held a long silver sword that glinted dangerously in the dim light. It walked to the center of the room and lifted the weapon, aiming it at Edward.

"Run."

"W-what?" Emily stuttered, rudely knocked out of her studious revere.

"Run! You don't know how to fight, remember? Run!" Ed snapped, sliding into a fighting position.

"O-oh. Right!"

Without waiting to see if the armor would attack, Emily spun around and began to run. She flew out the door and down the hall, desperately hoping she was heading in the right direction. The halls seemed even dimmer than before, if that was possible, and there wasn't a single window. Sliding around yet another corner, she saw a set of stairs ahead. Hope blossoming, she put on a burst of speed and sped down the stairs, exiting at the first floor. The halls seemed to be a bit lighter here, tiny lights blinking up at her from the floor. A cool breeze caressed her face as ran and she backpedaled to find a much brighter corridor. The cause was a large, shattered window.

Grinning, she ran over to it and quickly climbed out, tumbling to the ground. Something large leapt over her, shrouding her in shadow as she let out a scream. Crawling out that window didn't seem like it had been a very good choice anymore. Keeping her hands over her head, she looked up to find Al engaged in battle with another suit of armor, this one armed with a meat cleaver.

"Emily!" Al cried in surprise, ducking and sliding around the animated armor. "Where's Brother?"

"Somewhere inside!" Emily called back, pressing her back against the wall in an attempt to get away from the fight. "We got sepera- Al look out!"

**~X~**

Alice ran through the halls of the lab warily, wondering if climbing through that window had been such a fantastic idea. Especially since Al hadn't been able to follow. A suit of armor had ambushed them as soon as she had entered the building and he had stayed behind to fight. She kept one hand on the wall as she moved, afraid that the lights that lined the hall would go off if she took it away.

It wasn't long until she came to a staircase. She should have ignored it but instead, she foolishly climbed it. The hall above was ten times dimmer than the hall she had just left, the floor and walls covered in a thick layer of dirt. Alice kept going; she could hear noises nearby, but she couldn't tell where they were coming from. Going with an age-old tactic, she ran into the first room she saw. And immediately regretted it.

The room was large and flooded with shadows. And standing in the very center, almost as if he was waiting for her, was Gluttony. He smiled at her, drooling, as he moved forward. She let out a shriek, stumbling backward. Spinning around, she exploded out into the hall, slamming into the wall in her haste. She pushed off it and ran, all too aware of the loud, echoing footsteps that Gluttony was producing. Alice reached out and grabbed the corner, flinging herself around and instantly slamming into someone.

She fell back, hitting the floor hard. Gasping a bit, Alice looked up to find Envy standing above her, Edward slung over his shoulder. She paled, her eyes locking on the blood dripping down the alchemist's face. Lust came up behind them; her entrance accompanied by the clicking of her heels.

"Hey, Lust," Envy said, smirking. "Would you mind taking care of this brat for me? I need to deliver my 'package'."

"Sure." Lust replied, walking towards her as Envy ran past. The busty woman watched her for a moment before she spoke.

"Well little girl, it seems as though you've ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. But I suppose Envy would disagree with that," she sighed, crossing her arms. "You know, I was really hoping Gluttony would get you, but I guess not. I personally would keep you alive but Envy thinks you're too annoying."

"A-annoying? But...he's never even met m-me!"

"You think we haven't been watching you?"

"A-aah..."

"Yes. We've been watching you and your friend since you arrived here. Sadly for you, we won't be watching _you_ anymore. You see, we're going to blow this place up. And I'm leaving you here to be blown up with it."

"W-what?"

"Oh stop yelling. Envy was right, you are quite annoying. Come Gluttony."

Alice watched in shock, unable to move, as Lust and Gluttony left. Slowly, much too slowly, her brain came back online and she pushed herself up. Trembling, she looked around, trying to find an exit. There was a staircase a few feet away. She didn't want to take it, but the ground under her feet was already shaking and there was no way she'd make it to the other stairs. She jumped, landing the lower stairs as the spot she had been standing in exploded. Alice quickly pushed herself up and raced up the stairs, hoping to find another set, and from there, an exit.

She could feel the heat on her back as she ran, but her search had no results. Turning a corner, she was met with a dead end. There were no windows or doors, just wall. But she couldn't go back the way she came, the hall she had been in was ablaze and falling apart.

"Shit." Alice muttered, gasping. "Now what?"

Ignoring the heat, she ran her hand along one of the walls, her brow furrowing in concentration. She had never performed alchemy before. But she had gone through the Gate. That meant she at least had a chance, right?

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and clapped her hands together. Her eyes flew open as she slammed her hands against the wall. A soft blue light exploded around her, sending her hair aloft as the wall shattered. It wasn't nearly as clean or easy as Ed and Al made it look. The stone shards flew at her, the cuts stinging unpleasantly. The heat was closer, stronger now. Closing her eyes and saying a quick prayer, she launched herself into a three story free fall.

**~X~**

Barry the Chopper had been defeated, with a little help from Ross and Brosh, and Alphonse was now trying to calm down a panicked Emily. He felt that he was making some progress when someone cleared their throat. Al turned to find a man (at least, he assumed it was a man) with long green hair and revealing clothes walking towards them. A bleeding Edward was slung over his shoulder.

"Hello!" It called," I've come to deliver a package!" It came over set down his "package". Emily crawled over to Ed, shaking his shoulder.

"Wait..." Said Al, holding out his hand. "Where's Alice? Have you seen her?"

"Oh yes, I saw her." Suddenly the building behind them began to implode, the fire lighting up the night sky. Al let out a cry, turning to look but stopping when the thing started laughing.

"Yeah, I saw Alice alright. By now she's dead or heading for it."

"What?" Al cried, standing up.

"You see, I saved Fullmetal shortie here 'cuz he's way too important. But I left that brat in there. I thought she was too annoying. So as I left, I had Lust tell her why exactly we were leaving her there, and then we blew the place up. If she's not dead right now, I'd be surprised."

"You...How could you do tha-" Al was cut off as a loud, female scream rang through the air. Ross looked up, scared. The thing just grinned.

"Alice." Emily whispered in horror.

* * *

***EDITED MAY 8, 2011***

**Ooohhhh, cliffhanger. Don't forget to send those ninjas! Anyway, once again sorry about updating so late. But I was so anxious to write this, I stayed up late. Right now, it is 12:15 AM. So be happy and Review! Now here's Envy to tell you what you get.**

**Envy: You...called me...an "It"**

**SCA: Yes, I did. You can kill me later, ok? Tell the reviewers what they get.**

**Envy: Fine...-looks at paper- The reviewers get stuffed...palm trees...-looks as SCA- Ok, you die now.**

**SCA: EKKK! Ok I gotta go! But please press that button and review! I'm not updating till I have 5 reviews! 5! So review! Please!**


	8. Still Waking Up

**SCA: Hello everyone! I'm so sorry I haven't updated, but I've been really busy. Like super busy. But here's the new chappy! Also, feel free to send ninjas( still working on that army), throw milk cartons(I'll throw them at Ed), send your Rogane foam filled pinatas(I'll give them to my band director), and flame me(they will be kept for Marching band weapons). Thank you. XD Well, maybe not the flame part. :D**

**On with the chappy!**

***EDITED IN THE BEGINNING OF MAY OR SO, 2011***

* * *

_Chapter 8: Still Waking Up_

* * *

"Allie..."

"Errrggh..."

"Allie, you can't stay here. It's time for you to wake up"

"But..."

"Allie! Go!"

Whatever scene she had been looking at was gone, replaced by a darkness she recognized. Slowly, she opened her eyes and glanced around. She squinted against the light, taking in the room. It was obvious that she was in a hospital. What other place decorated only in white?

She was alone in the room and as she lifted her hand to brush back some hair, she noticed it was covered in bandages. Alice's eyes widened as the nights events came back to her. Blinking, she sat up. The action was harder than she thought it would be and she winced.

"Urgh. Bloody hell. Haven't they heard of pain killers?" she muttered in irritation. There was a click, the door opening to reveal a way too happy blonde nurse.

"Ah," she said smiling,"You're awake. I'll go get the doctor." The nurse left, leaving Alice to stare at the door until it opened again, this time revealing a man with graying brown hair. He also smiled at her.

"Good morning. How do you feel?"

"Sore."

The doctor chuckled, as if she had told some joke. "That's to be expected. You did fall from the third floor."

Alice didn't bother to say anything, she just watched him as he scribbled something down on his clipboard.

"Yes, well. You have some bruising and cuts. You managed to get by without a concussion. Do you feel sick at all? Dizzy?"

"No." She answered, playing with a loose thread on the blanket.

"Good," the doctor looked at his clipboard before he looked up again, "Well, I think I'll let you rest-"

"Wait."

"Yes?"

"Where are the people I came with? The blonde? And the brown-haired girl, and the armor?"

"Mr. Elric is four rooms down from this one. He had some major bleeding but he's alright now. I'm assuming the other two are with him."

"Ah."

"Yes. If you're feeling up to it, I can walk you to his room." The doctor offered, smiling down at her. She smiled back, not feeling a bit happy.

"That'd be great."

**~X~**

"Allie!" Emily cried happily as she spotted her friend coming down the hall. She and Al were both sitting in the hall, taking a break from sitting in Ed's room. Alice gave them a smile as she approached, waving to the doctor as he left.

"Did you get kicked out or something?" Alice asked with a smirk, stopping in front of them.

"Not exactly." Emily replied, glancing over at Al. "Ed and Al sort of had a fight. I came out here so Al wasn't alone."

"You didn't have to." The armor grumbled. Alice glanced over at Emily, raising an eyebrow. She just shrugged, shaking her head.

"Well, I think I'm going to talk to Ed."

"Alright. Have fun." Emily said, her smile seeming more forced than before. Alice gave a little wave and pushed open the door.

Edward was sitting up in his bed, staring out the window. There were bandages wrapped around his head and arms, and she could see some under his shirt. For a moment, all she saw was the image of Envy, standing in that dimly lit hall, a bleeding Edward over his shoulder. She shook the image from her mind and moved forward.

"What do you want?"

Alice frowned, angered that the alchemist hadn't even bothered to look at her.

"I just wanted to make sure you were still alive. I didn't think that was such a crime."

Ed turned to her, raising an eyebrow.

"You care?"

Yes, I care." She said, blushing. "But since you obviously hate me, I'll just go." And with that, she spun on her heel and left. She didn't hear him speak as the door fell shut.

"I don't...hate you, Alice."

But his confession fell on an empty room.

**~X~**

It had been at least a few hours since Alice had stormed from Edwards room and confined herself to her own. She had laid in the bed the whole time, staring at the ceiling and counting tiles. There were exactly 198 of them.

Sighing, she flung her bandaged arm over her eyes.

"Why the hell did I fall in love with someone who hates my guts?"

Her question went unanswered.

"Wait...argh, why did I just say that? I don't love him. I only like him. A lot. I'm going to shut up now."

Alice buried her face in her pillow but couldn't stay there long. The door opened quickly, Emily standing in the doorway. Alice looked up in irritation.

"Can I help you?"

"Have you seen Al at all?" she asked, slipping into the room. Alice sat up, throwing the blankets back.

"Considering I haven't left my room all day, no. Is he missing?"

"Sort of..."

Sighing, Alice stood up. "What do you mean, sort of?"

"Well...I was sitting outside Ed's room when Al went storming out. Ed hasn't bothered to look for him, in fact, I think he's calling Winry right now. But I'm kind of worried."

"Want me to help you look for him?"

"Thanks friend!" Emily cried happily. "I'll meet you in the hall." Alice watched warily as Emily ran out the door and pulled it shut behind her.

"...I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"

**~X~**

Emily was lost. Or at least she thought she was lost. And she was alone. Alice had been with her for a while, but then she had ditched her because she was hungry and there was food in Edward's room. That traitor!

And now she was searching for Alphonse on her own. She had had some luck earlier, when she spotted him turning a corner, but now it was like he had vanished into thin air. Her stomach gave an annoyed grumble as she walked, and she considered heading back to Ed's room. Then she saw him.

He was sitting on a bench, an old man slumped on the other end.

"Al?"

He glanced up at her but didn't speak.

"Do you...want to come back to Ed's room with me?"

Silence.

"Well...we'll be there..."

She waited, waited for him to speak, to move, to do something.

He did nothing.

And so she turned and left.

* * *

***EDITED MAY 8 OR SO, 2011***

**Sorry it took so long to get this up! My only excuse? Band. Marching band. My life right now is school, band, school, band, band, more band, school, library. :D So please forgive me and please review!**

**Emily: We'll give you suckers!**


	9. Going Down

**SCA: Hola me amigos! I'm updating in a reasonable time frame! Aren't you all so happy?**

**Ed: Dude, no one cares**

**SCA: Yes they do!**

**Ed: Just keep telling yourself that**

**SCA: -runs off to cry in a corner-**

**Al: Nice Brother**

**Ed: What?**

**Emily: -sighs- SCA doesn't own FMA. And she never will**

**SCA: You all just hate me, don't you?**

**Ed: Yep**

**On with the chappy!**

***EDITING PROCESS STARTED ON MAY 13, 2011***

* * *

_Chapter 9: Going Down_

* * *

"Did you find him?" Alice asked as Emily walked into the room. Alice was currently sitting on the floor of Edward's room, watching Ross try to force milk on him.

"Yeah...he didn't want to come back with me though."

"Well..." Alice muttered thought fully, looking down at her half eaten apple. "Maybe he's PMSing?"

"..."

"What? It's a joke! You always laughed at it back home." She grumbled, taking a bite of apple. Emily ignored her, walking over to the bed where the milk war was taking place.

"Just drink it, Edward! You need your bones to be strong with all the stuff you get into!"

"Ross is right, Ed." Emily commented, taking the bottle from the older woman and shoving it in the alchemist's face. "Drink it."

"No! That stuff is absolutely repulsive!"

"Give it here." Alice said calmly, getting up. She strode over to Emily and took the milk bottle from her. "If the shrimp isn't gonna drink it, don't let it go to waste."

Ed grimaced as Alice tilted the bottle back and took a sip.

"See?" She asked, grinning. "I'm still alive! It's a miracle!"

"Oh shut up!" Ed snapped, blushing as he snatched the milk back and took a drink. "I know it's not deadly!"

Alice's grin grew as the blonde suddenly realized what he had done. Yelling about cow secretions, he ran into the bathroom to rinse out his mouth. Emily was laughing and Ross was watching with an odd look.

"That's all you have to do." Alice stated, picking up her apple and taking a bite. "I think I'm gonna go work my magic on Alphonse. Where is he?"

"He's actually not that far from here. Go down the fourth hall on the left. He was sitting on one of the benches there." Emily replied, her eyes sparkling with a silent smile as she watch Ed trudge out of the bathroom.

"'Kay. I'm off, my brave comrades. I know you'll miss me, but down worry. As long as you keep m-"

"Just go!" Emily interrupted, shoving her forward with a laugh. Alice stuck her tongue out at her friend before heading off down the hall.

"Does she hate me? I think she hates me."

Emily turned to look at Ed, unsure if his comment had been serious or sarcastic.

"Nah, she doesn't hate you. She's just naturally mean. Ask her yourself next time, she'll say the same thing."

Ed raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

**~X~**

"Alphonseeeeeee! Al! Look at me when I'm speaking to you, please!" Alice let out a sigh of relief as the armor finally looked up. She came to a stop in front of him and took a moment to look him over.

"Can I help you, Alice?" He asked, his echo-y voice sounding more tired than she had ever heard it.

"How many times have I told you you can call me Allie? And give me a moment, I'm considering the different ways I can work my magic and their various outcomes."

"...What?"

Alice gave a little laugh, sitting down beside him. "Well, since I just managed to get Ed to drink milk, I figured I'd come out here and try to bring you back to the room."

"Really? You got Bro-Edward to drink milk?"

"Yes...Are you feeling alright, Al?"

"I'm ...fine."

"You don't sound fine."

"I'm fine! Alright? Just leave me alone."

"Al..."

"I said I'm fine!" He snapped, reaching over to shove her away, like one might shove away an irritating friend. Unfortunately, Alphonse was stronger than most annoyed friends and his shove ended up sending her flying. She let out an undignified, high-pitched yelp as she fell off the bench and hit the floor. She let out a hiss as she made impact. She certainly didn't remember the floor being this hard.

After what felt like an eternity, but was really only a few seconds, Al mumbled something and got up, disappearing into the shadows of an adjacent hallway. Alice sat there in silence, staring at the spot he had been in.

"Alice?"

She turned, looking up to see Edward standing a few feet away, giving her a look that clearly said he thought she was crazy.

"Ed? What are you doing here?"

"I..came to see if I could help. Considering Al is my brother and all. Why are you on the floor?"

"Er...He's stronger than he thinks?"

Ed came forward, frowning. "What does that mean? Are you saying he hit you or something?"

"Oh! No, no. He didn't hit me. He just shoved me. Harder than he thought he had. It happens to me all the time, no harm done."

"Does it now?" He asked, his voice suspicious.

"Look, I'm sure you would have rather had him hit me, but really, it's nothing." Alice's face reflecting Edward's frown, she stood up and brushed herself off. She began to walk away, in the same direction Al had taken, but then Ed's words stopped her.

"Why would I want my brother to hit you?"

"Well...back home, when some dislikes a person a lot, they aren't exactly against them being hit."

Edward sighed, crossing his arms. "Who said I disliked you?"

"It didn't have to be said. It's sort of obvious."

"Is it?" Ed lifted his head, his eyes meeting hers. Alice gasped a little; his eyes seemed to be burning with rage. What had she done now?

"Y-yes." She stuttered, swallowing. "You always glare at me, you still don't trust me even though you have no problem trusting Emily, and you shoved me off that wall!"

"You're still going on about the trust issue?"

"Yes, I am still going on about the trust issue!" She cried, stepping closer to Ed as her voice rose. "Never in my life have I had to work so hard for someones trust! Just what is it about me that makes me so unworthy of your trust? What did I do? I haven't betrayed you, or lied to you. I used to think it was because you didn't believe my story, but you trust Emily! It's driving me crazy! Why won't you trust me? What am I doing wrong?"

Gasping from her tyrant, she stared at the floor, a rosy color spreading across her cheeks. Without bothering to give an excuse, she turned and slid into the very shadows Al had used to make his exit. She strode down the hall, shaking. She was angry and embarrassed and she never wanted to face Ed again. Even if he hadn't disliked her, he probably hated her now.

"Alice! Alice, come back!"

Alice ignored him, looking for another hallway she could take. Nothing. Nothing but doors, doors that led to rooms, doors that led to _people. _She didn't want to see people. And then she hit something.

She let out a cry of surprise as she tumbled to the ground, landing on her already bruised rear. With a soft curse, she looked up to find she had crashed into none other than Alphonse. Apparently his escape hadn't gone any better than hers had. Giving him a smile, she tried to lighten the mood.

"Knocking me over again, Al? I really must have pissed you off." She gave a small laugh but her efforts were met with silence. She frowned a bit, waiting for him to turn around.

"Alice! Why are you on the floor again?"

Alice groaned, her frown deepening to a scowl as she buried her face in her hands. Today just wasn't her lucky day.

"I realized that I really like the floor. I've decided to spend the rest of my hospital stay on it." She answered sarcastically, her voice muffled.

She opened her eyes, staring into the darkness her cupped hands had created. Hospital stay. That's right. She had almost forgotten why she was here.

"Sure." Ed muttered, grabbing her arm and yanking her up. She winced, had she hurt that arm? It felt like it but she couldn't remember.

"Sorry."

"It's fine." She replied, crossing her arms. "Why'd you follow me?"

"To clear things up. But it seems as though you're having some problems with Al too. What's going on?"

"Nothing's going on, Ed." Al said, finally speaking. "Alice is just a klutz."

"I take great offense to that!" Alice snapped.

"Why don't you go back to your room, Alice? I'll talk to you later, alright? I'll stop by on my way back." Ed said, his eyes trained on his brother.

"Alright..." Alice grumbled, turning. She didn't bother to look back as she left.

**~X~**

Al watched Alice leave in a rage. He was mad that they were all lying to him. Acting like they knew him, like he was a real being.

_"What if your 'brother' created you? How do you know that you even existed before you became armor? Your 'brother' could have easily given you false memories."_

_"Al, there's something I've been wanting to tell you, but I've been too afraid."_

What if Barry the Chopper was right? What if Edward really had created him? Yes, he had memories, and yes, there were people who claimed to have known him before the armor. But those memories could easily be manufactured, the people paid off to lie. Winry, Granny, all of them. Even Alice and Emily. Ed must have gotten to them right away and told them. Or let them believe the lie. The more he considered it, the more it seemed possible.

He wanted to ask, to ask his so called 'brother' if everything was an act. But he'd probably just lie more, say things like "Why would I risk my life to create a fake person?" or "Just ask Winry, or Granny. They knew you!" Maybe it was a little crazy, risking your life to create a fake person. But he didn't know Ed anymore, did he? Maybe he had escaped a loony bin. And maybe Alice and Emily were old friends that he had met there. It would be a simple explanation for the story they gave.

Maybe everything about Alice and Emily was a lie. They seemed innocent; they couldn't do alchemy, or fight. They were clueless about Amestris. Or were they? Maybe they did know how to fight, how to use alchemy. Maybe they had even helped create him. But why would they run off, only to return a few years later? A cover-up perhaps?

"Al?"

Al's head snapped up to find that Edward was still standing in the hallway with him. He wanted to yell at the blonde, to demand an answer. To hold him hostage until he had heard the truth, word for word, straight from Edward's mouth.

But he couldn't do that. Not yet.

So he stepped around the alchemist and walked away.

Edward didn't bother to follow.

* * *

***EDITING PROCESS CONCLUDED ON MAY 14, 2011***

**SCA: Well? I know Alphonse was unbelievably OOC, but please forgive that! I also know it's somewhat short, but please forgive that as well.**

**So what does everyone think? Was this a good chapter? Or a sucky one? Please tell me! I wanna know! Click that smexy button! Click it!**

**Emily: Thanks for reading!**

**Envy: Have a nice day!**

**Everyone:...**

**Envy: What?**


	10. Cows must be crying

**SCA: Oh my gosh! I'm finally updating! A miracle! Yeah, anyway, sorry about the wait. I just haven't had time. But I'm on spring break, so I finally wrote chapter 10! Double digits baby! Yes! Anyhoo, I don't own FMA.....**

**On with the chapter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

* * *

Chapter 10: Cows must be crying

~~~Alice Cam!~~~~

Alice pulled the door shut behind her and almost immediately crashed into Emily. Emily looked up in surprise before narrowing her eyes. She stared at Alice's face for a minute, giving off a confused aura. Finally, she spoke up.

"Why do you have a bruise on your cheek?"

"Oh....that. Um, well......Al and I kinda got in a fight...." Alice gave an awkward laugh and Emily sighed.

"I told you your fake violence would screw you someday."

"Fake?! What!? It's not fake!"

"So you took karate for a couple years. Big whoop."

"Eh." Alice crossed her arms and looked away only to see Winry walking down the hall. "Winry?" she turned and ran over to the door, sticking her head out.

"Winry!" The blonde turned and smiled.

"Alice! Wait....what are you doing here? Were you injured too?" A worried look crossed her face.

"Yes,unfortunately . Whats up, Winry?" said Emily, standing beside Alice. Winry gasped.

"You too, Emily? Ed never told me you guys were hurt...."

"He probably just didn't want to worry you," said Alice, walking over and giving Winry a hug. The auto-mail mechanic hugged her back.

"I should go check on Ed's auto-mail. You guys wanna come?" Emily and Alice looked at each other before saying,

"No thanks."

"Alright. I'll come visit you guys when I'm done."

"Alright. Bye, Winry."

"Bye!"

* * *

~~~~Winry Cam!~~~~

The blonde walked down the hall, smiling. She was happy to see everyone again, even if it was in a hospital. She arrived at Edward's room and pushed the door open. She opened her mouth to say hi and froze. Ed was lying in his bed, completely covered in bandages. Armstrong, Ross, and Brosh stood beside the the bed. Armstrong was crying, Ed looked mad, and the other two were sweat-dropping. Winry ran over, causing the others to look up.

"Ed?" she asked,"Why are you covered in bandages?! I knew you were hurt but you didn't tell me it was this bad....."

"It wasn't this bad until Major Armstrong showed up..." Ed replied, glaring at said man. Winry and the other two glared at him as well. Armstrong just continued crying.

_...._

"Sheesh, don't scare me like that!" Winry exclaimed as Ed took off the extra bandages.

"Don't tell it to me, tell it to him!" Said Ed angerly, jerking his chin at the major.

"It's your fault for not training yourself hard enough," Armstrong replied, still sparkling.

"You can't expect him to be a match for you, Major!" Winry said, sweat dropping. She looked back down at Ed, "But...even without the wounds inflicted by the Major, your injuries are still really severe."

"This is nothing," he scoffed, "Wounds like these heal quick." Winry was silent. "What?"

"...You were hurt because your auto-mail failed you. It's all my fault for not being thorough enough when I built it." The room was quiet as eveyone except Winry stared at Ed.

"It....It's not your fault Winry! First of all, the reason it broke was because I was too rough with it! Your work was flawless as usual! Plus, when my arm broke, it kept me from getting even more beat up! So don't worry about it! All right?!"

Winry suddenly grinned, leaping forward. "Your right! It's not my fault! Ok then, let's talk about my fee for coming out here to make repairs!" Ed flinched, his eyes darkening.

"Hrm! Don't get excited so excited, Edward Elric. You must take it easy and nurse yourself back to health. And to do that you need plenty of nutritious food and rest." said the Major, crossing his arms.

"I know!" Winry was quietly staring at the end table. Edward slowly looked up.

"You didn't drink your milk......." Ed was quiet for a moment before saying,

"....I HATE milk."

"That's why your always gonna be the size of a pea!" Winry yelled.

"Shut up!! I'm not gonna drink some opaque white liquid that was secreted by a cow!!!"

"Your just being stubborn, Edward Elric!" Armstong exclaimed, "In order to regain your lost stamina, you need nutrients!!"

"Fine! Then I'll get my nutrients from some other source!!"

"That's why you never get taller!!"

"What did you say?!"

As Armstrong continued on about milks nutrient status, Ed and Winry looked up just in time to see Al closing the door behind him.

* * *

_Time skip!!!! Sorta....._

* * *

~~~~Em and Alice Cam!~~~~

Alice was sitting on her bed, holding an ice pack to her left eye. She didn't think she really needed an ice pack, but Em and Winry had insisted. Speaking of Emily, she looked up to see that the said girl was still pacing the room.

"Don't wear a hole in the floor," Alice said dryly. Emily gave her a look before saying,

"I don't get it. Why would Al punch you?" Alice shrugged.

" 'Cuz he's on his manperiod?"

"Alice!"

"What?" Emily shook her head and continued to pace.

"I just don't get...." she mumbled. Alice sighed.

"Stop trying to figure it out, Emily. Al's just acting weird." Emily gave her another look.

"This is your fault too, ya know."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Alice! Could you at least act concerned?!" Alice shrugged again.

"I am concerned. But he punched me, obviously I'm a little mad at the tin can."

"He's not a tin can!" Emily yelled, stopping mid-pace, "Stop dissing Alphonse!"

"Why should I?" she asked, reaching up and gently touching the area around her eye. She winced. "The stupid tin-"

"Get out." She looked up in surprise.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me. Get out. And don't come back until you've made up with Al." Alice sat in silence for moment before standing up.

"Fine, I'll go. But if that's your requirement, I can't promise I'll be back soon." Then she was gone.

* * *

**SCA: So, what did you think? I was planning on making it longer but I decided to save it for chapter 11. Which might also come out this week. One can hope, right? Anywayz, please review!!!!! I'll give you Alphonse plushies!**

**Emily: I thought you already gave those away?**

**SCA: I gave away armored Al plushies. These are human Al plushies! So cute! Review now to get your plushie!!!!!!!**


	11. It's alright now, right?

**SCA: Here we are! Chapter 11! So exciting!**

**Ed: Not really...**

**SCA: Don't ruin the moment for me shrimp...**

**Ed: Weirdo...**

**Alice: Anyway...The sugar-crazed alchemist does not own Fullmetal Alchemist. If she did, we'd all be rich and we wouldn't have to suffer under her...**

**SCA: What was that Alice?**

**Alice: Nothing!**

**On with the chapter!**

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Chapter 11: It's alright now, right?

~~~Alice cam~~~

Alice stood against the door, hoping Emily would realize she was wrong and reopen it. When nothing happened, she sighed and started walking. She came to a stop in a small, dead-end hallway with benches and mirrors. Alice went and sat down on the middle bench, staring at the cracked mirror in front of her. The one Alphonse had broken, most likely. She stared at her broken reflection in silence, her mind going crazy with swirling thoughts. She and Emily had never been in a fight this bad before and it scared her a little. Sure, they had fights, who didn't? But they always made up before the conversation was over, not to mention the fights were over little stupid things to begin with. She sighed as the thoughts turned to memories.

Not only memories of Emily, but memories of all her friends, and her family. Were they worried? Did they know she was gone? Had her body just vanished like she thought it did, or had something else happened? She sighed again, placing her elbows on her knees and resting her chin in her hands. She continued staring the mirror, wishing she hadn't fought with Al or Emily. Wishing she was home and that none of this had ever happened...

**~X~**

~~~Edward Cam~~~

The room was quiet as Edward sat on his bed, giving the milk sitting on the table in front of him a death glare.

"You're here again, you bastard? Aw man, whats the big deal about milk anyway? I'm not drinking it and that's final! Do me a favor, Al, and drink it for me. Oh..but I guess you can't since you have that body..."

"Big Brother, you still have most of your real body, you need to take care of it. Just drink it," said Al, looking away. Ed sighed, reaching for his fork.

"I won't drink what I don't like. And besides, I'm not gonna die just because I don't drink milk. I know it doesn't seem like it, but I am growing. But everyone keeps calling me small! You know, Al, you're lucky you have a big body." Suddenly Al stood up, knocking over his stool in the process.

"I never asked for this damn body!" Ed and Winry, who just so happened to open the door seconds ago, froze, staring at Al in shock. Al clenched his fists.

"I never asked...for this damn body!"

"I...I'm sorry, Al...you're right, it's my fault all of this happened. That's why I want to get you back to normal as soon as possible."

"Is there really any guarantee that we can get our original bodies back?"

"I'll get you back to normal, you've just gotta believe me!"

"'Believe' you! What am I supposed to believe in this empty shell of a body? According to alchemic theory, human beings are composed of a physical body, mind, and soul! Memories are nothing but data when you really think about it. It should be possible to artificially construct them."

"What are you saying, Al?" asked Ed, nervously.

"You told me once that there was something you were too afraid to tell me. Maybe what you wanted to tell me was that my soul and my memories are all fake and that they were created artificially. Well, "Big Brother", can you prove that a person named Alphonse Elric really existed? Isn't possible that Winry, Granny, and everyone else is lying to me? So, "Big Brother", what do you have to say to that?"

Ed slammed his hands down on the table, causing the fork to fly off and fall to the floor. The room was silent as the fork shivered before coming to a stop.

"You were...keeping all that bottled up this whole time? Is that what you wanted to tell me?" Al nodded, causing Edward to give a small, sad smile.

"I see..." Ed quietly got up and exited the room, disappearing down the hall.

**~X~**

~~Alphonse Cam~~

Winry leapt forward, sliding into the hall, almost crashing into Maes Hughes.

"Ed!" she cried, watching with dismay as he walked away. Slowly she reached down, pulled a wrench out of nowhere and turned on Al.

"You idiot!" she screamed, whacking him with the wrench, tears escaping her eyes.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Al exclaimed, his armor rattling. Winry brought her arm back, slamming her wrench down on his head.

"Al, you're such an idiot! The thing that Ed was too afraid to talk to you about...was whether or not you blame him for what happened! He used to cry himself to sleep every night from the pain and fever caused by his automail surgery. And then you went and said what you did...What idiot would risk his life to create a fake younger brother? All you guys have is each other." Winry paused, wiping her eyes before jabbing her arm in the direction of the door.

"Go after him!"

"Um...okay." said Al, standing up.

"What are you waiting for? Run!"

"Yes Ma'am!"

**~X~**

~~Alice cam~~

Klang, klang, klang.

Alice glanced up in surprise to see Alphonse race past her hiding spot. Raising an eyebrow, she slowly stood, heading for the main hall when another sound reached her ears.

Tap, tap, tap.

She sped up a bit, anxious to see what all the action was about. She was almost run over by Winry and Co. Winry skidded to a stop, looking at her.

"Come on, Alice!" Winry exclaimed, pulling on Alice's free arm.

"What? Why? And why are we running?"

"Because Al is about to make up with Ed and I have to be there so I can smack them both!"

"Eh-heh...yeah..."

Alice joined the running group, laughing when they almost ran over Emily as well. Emily raised an eyebrow, giving her a questioning look as Winry yanked her into the group. Alice just shrugged, smiling.

"Apparently Ed and Al are gonna make up and Winry wants to be there so she can smack them."

"Well then. Hmm, I guess since Ed and Al are gonna make up, we might as well too," Emily turned to look at Alice and smiled, "We good?"

Alice smiled back, nodding.

* * *

~~Alice and Emily Cam~~

"Finally," Emily groaned, snapping her suitcase shut, "We're getting out of here!"

Alice nodded in agreement, staring out the open window as she shut her own suitcase. She quietly walked over to the window, leaning on the sill and watching as a few birds flew by. The room was silent for a moment before Emily walked over and leaned against the wall beside her friend.

"Something wrong?" she asked. Alice shrugged, resting her chin in her hand.

"Not really...I just...I'm homesick I guess..."

"Ah," Emily tilted her head back, watching the ceiling,"Me too. I never thought I'd say it, but, I miss school.."

Alice gave a soft laugh. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I miss it too," Alice straightened up and glanced over at her suitcase,"But, at least we get to go see Rush Valley."

"I don't get it," Emily muttered, pushing off the wall,"What's so special about this Rush Valley?"

Alice laughed. "It's like...hmm, how to put this...it's like Universal Studios for a hardcore Harry Potter fan. Sorta"

"Uh...I think I get it?" Emily laughed, reaching for her suitcase.

"Come on!" Alice exclaimed, grabbing her own suitcase and heading for the door,"We gotta go meet Ed, Al, and Winry! Man, I can't wait till we get to Rush Valley!"

Alice exploded in to hallway, practically sprinting towards Edward's room. Emily followed at a much slower pace, shaking her head at her friends antics.

* * *

**SCA: OH! OH! Before I start this A/N, I wanna thank my awesome beta Emi-chan for catching all my really stupid mistakes and making sure I don't make a total fool of myself. Love you Emi! :D**

**~\m/^.^\m/~**

**SCA: Oh my gosh, it's done? Whoo! This took me, what, a month to write?**

**Roy: Actually, it took you about three months...**

**SCA: Shut up. Anyway, thankies to my reviewers! You are all totally awesome! -hugs reviewers- I tried my hardest to make this longer than usual but I don't think I managed...**

**Ed: When do you? You just fail at life, don't you?**

**SCA: Le gasp! What a horrible thing to say shrimp!**

**Ed: What did you just call me?**

**SCA: Ignoring the shrimp, fellow D Gray Man fans! Chapter 195 finally came out last week! -spazes- It was quite strange and did not fill the void in my heart created by the amount of time it takes for a new chapter to come out but I still loved it! **

**Ed: You are so weird...**

**SCA: Ouch, my pride. Allen-kun, I need a hug!**

**Allen: Okay! -Hugs-**

**SCA: Ahhh -faints-**

**Allen: Uh...**

**Kanda: Che.**

**Alice: Um, yeah, just ignore them. They'll be entering therapy soon. Anyway, please review!**

**SCA: -wakes up- Yes, please click the almighty review button and send me your thoughts! -sees Allen and Kanda and faints again-**

**Alice: -face palms-**

**

* * *

**

**SCA: Hey! I just got one of these 'Formspring' thingys. Feel free to go on there and ask the characters questions! There is a link on my profile.**

**Ed: Why do we have to go through this?**

**SCA: Cuz I said so. Now go my readers! Ask Edward Elric what kind of underwear he wears! Ask Roy Mustang why he fails so much! Because they will answer!**

**Everyone: ...We hate you...**


	12. No more blood, please

**Hello all! I am so sorry about the horrible wait for this chapter! It's been what, six months? Oh the shame o. Sophomore year has been a bit intense and I haven't had the chance (or the inspiration) to finish this chapter. But, here it is, finally, in all it's...something...glory! I tried to make it longer than usual. I hope you like it! Now, I'll shut up so you can read the long awaited chapter!**

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* * *

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_Chapter 12: No more blood, please._

_

* * *

_

Alice and Emily stood in the middle of the road, their mouths hanging open. Winry was bouncing around in front of them, yelling happily. Edward and Alphonse stood behind them, looking like they regretted getting off the train. Alice scanned the area around them, amazed at the amount of automail users this town had. Emily looked around as well, not used to seeing automail on Ed let alone on eighty percent of the population. As Winry raced over to a window and started gushing over the display, the two girls turned to each other.

"So," Emily muttered, still looking around, "This is Rush Valley?"

Alice nodded eagerly, a smile growing on her face. "It's so cool! The manga drawings didn't do it justice."

"So you've seen it before?"

"Uh-huh, I think it was volume...five? Yeah, I think so..."

Emily shook her head as her friend tried to figure out what book she had seen the automail capital in. Winry raced over to them, bouncing up and down.

"Isn't this place just amazing! So much better than I imagined!" she exclaimed.

"I know! I've never seen so much automail!" Alice answered, smiling happily. Winry's eyes flashed and she leaned towards Alice.

"Are you interested in automail by any chance?" Winry's grin grew when Alice nodded again. She eagerly grabbed the other girl's hand and dragged her over the a window, explaining the arm in the display as Alice listened. Emily watched slightly dumbstruck as Ed and Al came up behind her.

"Great," Ed moaned, "Another automail freak. Just what I need."

"Now, now Brother. I'm sure she won't be like Winry."

"You don't know that Al!"

Al sighed, turned to face Emily, ignoring the still complaining Ed. "You're not into automail?"

"Eh, not really. Too weird and confusing for me."

Al nodded in agreement, the two watching as Ed stomped over to the automail otaku and her apprentice, yanking them away from the window. They both let out crys of dismay, looking at the blonde alchemist with tear filled eyes. Edward twitched before pulling them over to where Emily and Alphonse were standing. They had only managed to stand together for a few seconds when Winry raced off ahead of them, pulling Alice along behind her. The three sighed and followed after them warily.

**~X~**

Alice and Emily were sitting on a bench, Al standing beside them, as they watched Ed being attacked by a group of automail mechanics. Alice laughed as his clothes began to fly out of the circle.

"Poor Ed," Emily commented, with a grin,"Being stripped down in public. I almost feel sorry for him."

"Almost?" Alice asked with a laugh as Al moved away from them to try and help his brother. "I'm perfectly fine with it. Ed's got quite the body."

Emily let out a laugh, smacking the back of her friends head.

"OW!" she exclaimed, glaring at Emily, "What was that for?"

"Nothing~ Just be careful. You're lucky Alphonse moved when he did."

Alice scowled, standing up and crossing her arms. Emily followed suit, placing a hand on her hip as she watched the group break up, leaving behind a bright red Ed. She smiled and tried not to laugh.

"Well, well. Too bad I don't have a camera, eh, Eddiekins?" Alice barked, a smirk plastered on her face, "This is priceless!"

"Sh-shut up!" Ed stuttered, blushing brighter, "I was attacked! And don't call me that!"

Alice laughed. "Aw, what's wrong Eddiekins? You don't like your nickname?"

"No! It's stupid and..." Ed went silent, patting his pants anxiously. Alice raised an eyebrow as the others turned to look at the blonde.

"Is something wrong, Ed?" asked Winry. He nodded, looking up nervously.

"The thing that proves I'm state alchemist, my silver pocket watch, is gone!"

"WHAT?"

**~X~**

"Ah, it must have been Paninya! She's a pickpocket that targets tourists," the old man stated. His right eye seemed to be made of automail and he had a toothpick hanging out of his mouth. His partner sat behind him, cleaning off a wrench and nodding in agreement.

"What?" Ed exclaimed, staring at the two, "Do you know where I can find her? Tell me, please! That watch is very important to me!"

"Well, I can tell you, sure. But in exchange...let me have a peek under you hood." The man stared at him with a sparkling eye, a wrench clenched in his hand. The other man had the same kind of look on his face.

"Just a little looky loo~"

Ed snapped, changing his automail into a blade and threatening the men. They pulled back, giving up Paninya's location. Edward grinned, returning his arm to normal and facing the group.

"It's in the mountains?" asked Al.

Edward nodded, crossing his arms.

"There's mountains around here?" Alice gasped in surprise.

Ed nodded again as Emily sighed. "Look over there, Alice," she said, pointing to something in the distance," See those big, pointy shadows? Those would be the mountains."

"Ooohhhh..."

"Come on!" Edward cried, racing towards the mountains, "We gotta catch this thief!"

* * *

"Ugh...why are we here again?" Alice moaned as the group trudged through the mountains.

"Dunno...you tell me." Emily replied. The two looked at each other before glaring at Ed who flinched when he noticed them. They all looked worse for wear, hunched over and sweating. Everyone except Winry was moaning and complaining every five seconds.

"Eh...too hot..." Edward muttered. The three suffering teens then turned and glared at Al. A soft laugh came from behind him.

"You snooze, you lose!" Winry called from her place behind Al. The automail mechanics had discovered early on that the armor made a great sun shield and had been walking behind him ever since.

"Is this even the right way?" asked Emily, brushing her hair back,"Those old guys didn't lie to us, did they?"

"I don't think they did...I mean, Ed did threaten to injure them..." Alice answered, glancing at the blonde alchemist. Ed flinched again, turning away.

"They probably didn't. It makes since for an automail mechanic to live out here. He has access to high-quality ores." Winry explained.

Suddenly Al gasped, pointing. "Look! Isn't that her? On the bridge?"

The others all turned to look, their gazes landing on a rope bridge near by. Standing in the middle of it was a dark-skinned woman wearing camouflage.

"It is her! I've found you!" Ed screeched, slamming his hands on the ground and racing towards her on alchemy made stairs. Alice face palmed, groaning as the ground beneath them vibrated.

"Brother! Stop destroying everything!" Al cried, rushing after him.

"Alright, when we get there, just claim you don't know them." Emily said. Winry and Alice nodded, unable to tear their eyes away from the scene before them.

"Brother! Now look what you did!" Alphonse exclaimed in exasperation. A large metal cage stood a few feet away, the dark skinned girl trapped inside.

"She deserves it!" the blonde said smugly, wiping the dust off his pants. The cage then seemed to explode, knocking him over. The girl raced out of the smoke, heading for the building near by. Winry took off after her, and soon overcame her, grabbing her arm.

"Nice work, Winry!" cried Ed, running towards them. "Don't let her get away!"

"No way am I letting her go! Not until I've had a closer look at that automail!"

Ed and Al slumped to the ground in defeat as the front door opened.

"Hello Paninya!" said the brown-hair woman who stood in the doorway. She glanced at the people in front of her house in surprise. "Friends of yours?"

"Not really!" called Paninya, sweat-dropping. The woman turned to look at the man beside her who in turn just shrugged.

**~X~**

Alice and Emily sat in the corner, watching nervously as Winry freaked out about Paninya's automail. Ed and Al sat near by, staring dumbly. Small hearts seemed to fly around Winry's head as she obsessed over the girls legs. The blonde mechanic then got up and ran over to the the man from earlier, complimenting him.

"How long do you think we're gonna be here?" Alice whispered to Emily as an older looking man entered the room.

"I hope it's not too long." Emily replied, watching the scene warily."That macho looking old man is kinda creeping me out." Alice nodded in agreement as the 'macho' man led the others into another room, leaving the two girls alone.

"Uh, did you happen to catch where they were going?" Alice asked, staring at the door in surprise. Emily shook her head, leaning back.

"Does it matter? Now we don't have to watch Winry obsess."

"True."

The two fell into silence, the only sound being the rain that had started coming down a bit earlier. Emily was just beginning to fall asleep when Alice spoke.

"Do you think they forgot about us?" she asked softly, not bothering to look at her friend.

"Why would they forget about us?" Emily muttered, yawning.

"'Cause they've been gone for at least an hour."

"Go look for them if you're so worried. I'm sure they're in the house somewhere," Emily replied, leaning against the wall again. Alice sighed, slumping back.

"I don't want to just wander around someone else's house. Plus...what if they don't want me to look? We don't belong here Emily, maybe they're trying to get rid of us."

"Well, obviously we don't belong here," Emily exclaimed, sitting up. "But I don't see why they'd want to get rid of us. It's not like we've done anything to them."

"So? We've tried to ditch people before just because we didn't like them. 'Cause they annoyed us. I'm sure they would too."

Emily turned to glare at her. "Geez, you make us sound horribly mean."

Alice finally looked up, glancing at her. "Maybe we are. If we act like that, what would keep them from acting like that?"

"Oh shush. Stop acting like you'r-" Emily was cut off by the sound of a door being thrown open. The two looked up to see a harried looking Edward standing there, his eyes worried.

"Winry needs your help! Mrs. Lecourt is having her baby!"

Alice paled and Emily seemed to choke on air as Ed came into the room.

"The bridge is out and Dominic can't get a doctor in time," he explained. "Winry's going to deliver it but she needs help."

"R-right." Alice said, standing shakily. "We'll help. Right, Emily?"

"..."

"I said, Right, Emily?"

"...Y-eah, sure..."

"G-good." Alice turned to the blonde alchemist. "Where are they?"

"Down the hall. Let's go."

**~X~**

Paninya stumbled through the door, collapsing and mumbling about blood. Alice and Emily drifted out after her, paler than usual. Emily slumped down at the table while Alice disappeared into the bathroom. Ed glanced at the door before turning to Paninya.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

When the dark skinned girl didn't answer, Edward leapt up, heading into the room. Emily lifted her head long enough to watch Al follow his brother before letting it hit the table again. A few minutes later, Alice came out, a hand gripping her stomach as she sat down beside her friend. She let out a groan, resting her head on the table.

"Where'd Ed and Al go?" she asked.

"They went to go check on Mrs. Lecourt...I think."

"What about Paninya?" Alice muttered, pointing to the girl.

Emily turned, glancing at her and shrugging. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

"I don't think I will. I never realized how gross blood really is. I don't think I can even handle T.V blood anymore."

"Same here. That was...gross." Emily agreed, nodding. The sound of a door opening caught her attention and she glanced up to see Ed carrying Winry over to a chair. Winry looked like she was crying but Emily wasn't sure. They were talking too softly for her to tell. She continued to watch the two blondes, deeming them more interesting than her sickly friend. Winry eventually stopped crying and soon after, Ed stood up, going over to Paninya and beating her up for scaring him.

Emily smiled a little. It was kind of funny looking, seeing such a shrimp beat up Paninya while Winry just watched. She was feeling better now and thinking about going to sit with Winry when she heard Alice speak beside her.

"I don't feel...too good."

Emily sat up and began to turn around, planning on saying something about stating the obvious, only for a loud thud to change her mind. Alice was now lying on the floor, her eyes closed and her face much paler than usual. The room feel silent, everyone turning to look at the fallen girl.

"Oh geez, she actually fainted," Emily muttered, facepalming.

* * *

"Hurry up you guys!" Alice yelled from her spot on the patio of the last train car. Emily was standing behind her, laughing loudly as Ed and Al ran along the platform, getting ready to jump on.

"Be careful out there!" Winry called, as Alphonse climbed on. Edward sped up a bit, only feet away from the edge of the platform.

"You too! You better train..." he cut off as he leapt off the edge and onto the back of the train. He climbed over the railing, turning to Winry. "...hard! Make sure you steal some of that old geezer's secrets so next time you can make me a better one of these!" he finished, pointing to his automail arm.

"You can count on it!" Winry yelled back, waving until the train disappeared.

* * *

**Well, there ya go. Chapter 12 is finally finished. Kinda pathetic, since I started writing this in July -_- Anyway, I apologize for how much the part at Dominic's house sucks. It ended up being a combo of anime(Brotherhood) and manga. Plus, it was a little awkward feeling when I wrote about the whole baby thing. ._. I also apologize for the ending of this chapter. I just wasn't sure how to end it and yeah...Either way, I hope you liked it.**

**I'm going to try and get Chapter 13 out in a much more acceptable time frame. Thanks to all those who have stuck with me! A super special thanks to all my reviewers! And of course, all the people who added me to their favorites or alerts! But I'd love you all even more if you reviewed! :3**

**Please send me reviews! They make life better! Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, what I should change. Just tell me if you liked it or not :)**

***There little notes before I go.**

**1. I am in the process of editing/rewriting some of the earlier chapters. Chapter one is already finished and posted, go check it out :D**

**2. I drew a picture of Alice and Emily! There's a link to my deviantART page on my profile. Check it out x3  
**

**(There's other fanfic stuff on there too xD)**

** SUPER DUPER EXTRA IMPORTANT! THIS NOTE PERTAINS TO THE FUTURE OF THIS STORY!  
Okay, here's the question-Who do you like better, Emily or Alice? Please, please, please tell me. Your answers will help me make a decision about the future of this story. This question is so important that I might even make it into a poll. So please answer!**


	13. Goodbye

**Hello again! Yes, there's no conversation with the character's this time around. I didn't feel like doing one -_- I tried to get this one out sooner than the last one. I guessing you all want to read it already so I'll stop talking. :D**

**Must I repeat what you already know? I don't own FMA.**

**Warnings(Yes, for once I'm giving a warning): Subtle time skip. Slight gore. Religious things. Slight angst.**

**

* * *

**

_Chapter Thirteen: Goodbye_

_

* * *

_

"Ed! Edward! Eddiekins! Yo, Shrimp Skampy!" Alice called, practically skipping down the hall. She was exceptionally happy and hyper; teeming with an uncontrollable urge to annoy Edward.

"What was that about shrimp?" an angry voice called out from a door on her left. She pulled it open, barging in with a grin. Ed was sitting on the floor, an alchemy book lying open in his lap. Alphonse was in the corner, writing something down in a notebook.

"Nothing Eddiekins~" she sang, sitting down beside him. "Whatcha readin'?"

"A book." the blonde replied sourly, turning around to face the wall.

"Aw, don't be like that Eddie-poo~ I'm just curious." Alice replied, leaning forward to try and see over his shoulder. He turned even more, managing to keep the book out of her sight.

"Does it matter? It's not like you'd understand it anyway." Ed mumbled, a slight blush gracing his cheeks. "And don't call me that!"

"Then teach me!" Alice said, suddenly serious. "So I can understand."

Ed and Al both stared at her, as if unsure they had heard her right.

"You want us to teach you alchemy?" asked Al, looking for clarification.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, back to her earlier, bubblier, self. "It looks interesting! Plus, after what happened with that Greed guy, don't you think it would be a good way to defend myself?"

Edward flinched at the mention of Greed, the homunculus he and Alphonse had fought just days ago. There were still a few blood stains on Alphonse's armor.

"I don't know. Al and I aren't really qualified to teach alchemy. Why don't you ask Teacher?"

Alice shrunk a bit, fear passing through her eyes. "But...Izumi scares me..."

Ed and Al both stared at her before the elder burst out laughing. Alice and Al watched him in surprise before Alice started laughing as well. Not because she thought it was funny, but because she had never seen Ed laugh like that before. It made her happy. Alphonse on the other hand seemed to be worried for their sanity as he set down his notebook and continued to watch. But it wasn't long before a chuckle escaped him as well. By the time the laughing fit concluded, tears of mirth were spilling down Ed's face and Alice's cheeks were bright red. The two kept smiling, slowly catching their breath as Al picked up the book Ed had dropped.

"Well," Ed finally managed to say. "If you're so scared of her...maybe Al and I can take pity on you and teach you a few things."

Alice's face lit up, a huge grin spreading across it as she glomped the blonde alchemist. "Thank you!"

Said alchemist blushed again, wrapping one arm around her shoulders as he chuckled. "Sure, sure."

Al was laughing again as he sat back down. "Do you think Emily would like to learn as well?"

"Hmm..." Alice speculated as she pulled away from Ed. "She might. I'll go ask her." The brown-haired young woman quickly got up, heading for the door. She opened her mouth to say something as she reached for the door knob but was cut off by a loud scream. The room's occupants froze, staring at one another. Time seemed to stand still as their brains processed the voice of the scream.

"Emily." Alice whispered. That one word broke the Elrics out of their reverie and they were instantly in motion. Ed was the first out the door, leading the way down the hall toward the room were the scream originated. He held up a hand when they got there, pressing his ear to the door. After a moment of nothing but tense silence, he held up a single finger; slipping into the room. Alice moved to follow him but Al grabbed her arm, shaking his head when she sent him a questioning glance.

Time seemed to drag by as the two waited. After what seemed like ages, the door creaked open and an extremely pale Edward came out.

"Brother?" Al asked, when the elder didn't say anything. The blonde just shook his head. Alphonse seemed to understand the message that the nod conveyed but Alice didn't. And she had waited long enough. She yanked her arm out of Al's grasp and threw the door open. The armor let out a cry of surprise but didn't attempt to bring her back. Alice soon found herself wishing he had.

The scene she found in that room would be one she never forgot. The room she had shared with her best friend was no longer the clean, white room that Izumi had taken such pride in. Everything seemed to be covered in blood. The beds, the curtains, the desk, the floor, Emily's suitcase, Alice's shoes, the pile of books that they had brought up from the library the night before. And right in the middle of it, on her own bed, lay Emily. She was soaked in blood, her once brown hair now dyed crimson. But the worst part wasn't the blood, nor the odd angle her head was turned. It was the fact that her eyes were closed and her chest was still.

Alice let out a strangled cry, running over to the bed. She grabbed her friend's bloodied wrist, attempting to find a pulse. But Alice had never learned how to find one, her trembling fingers dropping Emily's cold ones as she remembered. Her vision blurring slightly, she leaned down, resting her head on Emily's chest. It was wet and disgusting, but Alice ignored that, letting out a pained cry when her ears were met with silence. She yanked her head back, blood dripping off the ends of her hair. She stared at the girl that she had been joking with only ten minutes earlier. She couldn't see where the life taking wound was and wasn't sure if she wanted to.

The longer she stood there, the more blurred her friend became. It occurred to her that she was crying but she couldn't convince herself to lift her arms and wipe away the tears. Cool fingers meeting her cheek told her that someone else was doing it for her and she moved her eyes to see Edward standing beside her. His face was grave, his eyes unreadable, as he wiped blood and tears away from her face.

"Alice..." he whispered, obviously avoiding looking at the bed. "Why don't you go with Teacher and wash off this blood? Al and I will...take care of Emily."

Alice moved her eyes to the door to find a pale Izumi standing there. She could see a sliver of Alphonse's armor beside her. The metal was shaking. She tried to move but found that she couldn't. Ed seemed to realize this and gently took her arm, leading her over to the older woman who took his place and led her downstairs. Alice moved as if in a trance, letting the woman scrub at her face and wash her hair. Izumi left her at the kitchen table; she didn't move until Ed came downstairs. He looked like he wanted to talk to her and she had a feeling she knew what it was about.

"Allie..I think you already know what I'm going to say but I'll say it anyway," he said, sitting down. Alice blinked. Emily had called her that every so often but that was it. She was surprised by his sudden use of her nickname.

"You and Emily were best friends. You probably haven't comprehended anything yet. But I don't want you to make the same mistake that Al and I did." He looked up at her, his eyes burning with something she didn't recognize. "Al and I are here for you. Don't try anything stupid with the alchemy we teach you, alright? Promise me you won't."

Alice was silent, unsure if she could speak.

"Allie! Promise me!"

Alice blinked, before taking a deep breath. "I promise," she whispered, staring at the table. "I wouldn't do that anyway..."

"You can't be sure of that, Allie. Grief makes your lose all sense and reason," Ed replied, watching her.

"I...I'm sure on this. She's...in heaven now. Why would I take that away from her?"

Ed's head shot up and he stared at her, his mouth hanging slightly open. "You...really believe that?"

"Yes." Alice stated firmly, turning to look at him. Her vision was much clearer now and she found that she could finally think straight. "You should too. Just because you're a scientist doesn't mean you're almighty, or invincible, or the closest thing to God. And I truly hope you figure that out, because one day I want us all to meet again. Emily went on ahead and she's waiting for us. She'll welcome us when the time comes. Believe that Ed. Please."

Ed stayed silent, watching her warily. "I don't think I can Alice."

Alice bowed her head, closing her eyes. She could feel tears pricking against her eye lids. She had already accepted that Emily had gone on ahead of her to a better place. But she still hadn't accepted that her friend wouldn't come down the stairs any minute and ask why everyone was meeting without her. It would take a while.

**~X~**

The wind was chilly and the rain stung, mixing in with her tears. Alice stood between the Elric siblings, hugging herself as she watched her best friends body be lowered into the ground. It had been a week since they found her in their room and Alice still hadn't fully accepted it. Alphonse told her that with time it would get better, but she didn't know. What was she going to do when she finally made it home? What would she say to Emily's family? To her own family? To their friends? She was at a loss; things felt like they were spiraling out of her control. Edward seemed to be keeping an exceptionally close eye on her too and it made her nervous. As if he didn't trust her. But would she even trust herself?

She felt a nudge from her right and looked up to find that the casket had been fully lowered and the funeral was now over. But she wasn't planning on leaving. Not yet anyway. She had never apologized to her friend for what had happened. Maybe if she hadn't run off to go annoy Edward, Emily wouldn't be dead right now. She couldn't help but question things.

The funeral cleared out quickly. Not much of a surprise really; this wasn't their world. All the people that loved and cherished her friend were back home, completely oblivious. Alice wanted to go up as soon as the headstone was placed but Alphonse got there first. She hung back staring at the grass until he was done.

The armor only stayed for a few minutes, nodding to Alice as he walked away. Ed had disappeared at some point and she was now all alone. She was fine with that though, and took a seat in front of the stone. At first she didn't speak, busying herself with pulling up grass, something she and Emily had always done when sitting in fields. Finally she took a deep breath and spoke.

"I'm sorry, Emily. I know my apology isn't particularly worth anything. And the more I think about it, the more I realize that I probably wouldn't have been able to help much if I had been there. It's just, strange, without you here. You'd probably yell at me for being cheesy but you were my best friend. We've been friends since preschool. It's sorta like I lost my twin...I'm blabbing aren't I? Well, let me tell you this. I'm going to learn alchemy and maybe even martial arts if I can talk Ed into it. I'll hurt whoever killed you. Then I'll get home and make sure you have a proper funeral with all the people that loved you. And I'll take care of your pet fish for you too."

"Emily had a fish?"

Alice jumped, spinning around to find Edward standing behind her. His hands were shoved in his pockets and he looked a little sheepish.

"Yeah," she replied, smiling a bit. "She named him Charlie, after this...video. She really wanted a cat, but her mom is allergic so she got a fish instead."

"I'm not sure how a fish is better than a cat," Ed commented, coming to stand beside her.

"No, cat is much better than a fish. She just got the fish to fill the void in her heart. She was planning on getting a cat when we went to college."

"College?"

"It's a school."

"Ah...You know, Allie, if you stay out here any longer, you'll catch cold. Why don't we head back to the hotel?" Ed asked, holding out a hand to help her up. She took it, standing up and brushing herself off. She was a bit saddened when Ed stuffed his hands back in his pockets but thought his blush was a good sign.

"So, Alphonse and I were talking the other day and we've decided to start your alchemy lessons tomorrow. I know it's a bit soon but after what happened...we want to make sure you can defend yourself."

"Right." Alice said with a nod, give Ed a small smile. One that he returned. "I can't wait."

* * *

"Are you sure she's gone?"

"Yes! Why do you doubt me, Lust?"

"Because you aren't the most trustworthy person, Envy." the busty woman commented, sharpening her nails as she spoke. The green haired man sitting beside her scoffed, frowning.

"Thanks. But trust me, she was dead. No one can lose that much blood and survive."

"Alright. But if you're wrong, it'll be Father's anger you'll be facing, not mine," the woman said, glancing up at him.

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

* * *

**Yep. Probably the most angsty, bloody, chapter I've ever posted on Fanfiction. I really hope that what happened with Emily doesn't drive you guys away. There's a reason for it and if you stick around you'll find out what it is. And I really do have my reasons for getting rid of her...**

**I know that this chapter had a lot of Alice-centered stuff but this IS an EdxOC fanfic. Alice is the main character and will be treated as such.**

**I wanna thank all my reviewers! You're amazing! And all the people who favorite and such. But could you please send me a review as well? Just tell me what you thought of it. Reviews really make my day. :3**

**I'm not sure when I'll have chapter 14 out. Soonish I hope. I've created a semi-outline for this story, so hopefully it'll help. Just a reminder, if your wanna see what Alice and Emily look like, go click on the link to my deviantART page on my profile.**

**Last and Final thought: What do you all think of Alice's nickname? I was tired of calling her Alice all the time so I asked my beta to come up with a nickname. Do you like Allie? Your feedback is love. :3**

**I lied, this is the final note: I have completed editing for Chapters 2 and 3. Chapter 4 is in-progress. Check 'em out. :)  
**


	14. No Longer There

**Hello there! I apologize for taking so long to get this chapter out. Lately, I've been dealing with some mild writers block, which isn't fun, and an ungodly amount of homework. It's quite annoying. But, here's chapter 14 for ya. :D**

***I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. If I did, I'd probably be rich. And I'd be able to pay The Monkees to give me a private concert.***

**Read on!**

****This is unbetaed since my beta is super busy this weekend and since we're both gonna be busy this week, I wanted to upload this while I could****

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_Chapter 14: No Longer There_

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A bell jingled as the bookstore door flew open, letting in a burst of cool air. It feel shut with a thump as the doors opener, a girl in her teens, strode through the aisles to a handful of shelves in back. She came to an abrupt stop, her hand shooting out to grab a manga novel. The girl flipped though it quite quickly before shoving it back on the shelf and pulling out another.

"Do you need any help miss?"

The girl glanced up to find an employee, a man in his twenties, standing at the end of the aisle.

"No, I'm fine. Thanks."

The employee gave a nod and walked away. Once his footsteps had faded away, the girl turned back to the book she was holding and resumed her frantic search. She kept going until she had reached the last one on the shelf. She shoved the last book back with irritation.

"Well damn." She whispered, crossing her arms and glaring at the manga. "That certainly didn't work."

* * *

The girl with no face was back. She was sitting in a desk, tapping a pencil against its surface. There was an empty desk behind her, and an occupied one in front of her. All the other desks in the the room were foggy and hard to make out.

The occupied desk held a familiar looking brunette girl; currently staring at the board and doodling on a piece of paper. The empty desk was, well, empty. Almost as if no one sat in it at all. Alice tilted her head to the side a bit, as if the movement would lead to an answer. It didn't. She knew for a fact that it was a school desk, in a classroom, meaning that seven different people sat in it at seven different times everyday. But for some reason it seemed off-limits. Like someone was supposed to sit there and no one else was allowed to. It was a feeling that Alice couldn't quite describe or understand.

She turned in a small circle, trying to see the rest of the class room. Everything was blurry though, and hard to decipher. The room was a mess of colors.

When she had finished her rotation, her eyes found the faceless girl again. And the faceless girl was turned toward her.

Alice's eyes widened as a face slowly started to take shape. Nothing distinct, but a lot more than before. The girls eyes weren't quite there, but Alice could tell she was being stared at.

"Come home soon, Allie."

"Wh-what? I don-"

"ALICE!"

Alice woke up with a loud gasp, sitting up quickly and smacking her head into something hard. She let out a cry of pain as the thing she had hit fell back. She opened one eye to find that "the thing" had been Edward and that the male was now rubbing his forehead and grumbling.

"Geez, Allie. You have a hard head."

"Sorry?"

"Huwh. Just get dressed and come downstairs already. We're starting your training today."

"Alright!" Alice exclaimed excitedly, watching as Ed sighed again and disappeared through the door. She leapt out of bed, grabbing her clothes and heading for the bathroom.

**~X~**

"Arrghhhh, all this science is making my head hurt!" Alice complained, falling back to lie on the floor.

"'All this science'? We've only just started." Ed scoffed, giving her a look that clearly meant he wanted to laugh.

"But there's soooo much. And there's math too! Math and science were always my worst subjects!" Alice whined, rolling to her side so she wouldn't have to look at Edward.

"Come on, Alice. It's not that bad." Al said, patting her shoulder.

The Elric brothers had been attempting to teach her alchemy for the past two hours. It hadn't been going well.

"I didn't realize there was so much...sciencey shit...in alchemy." Alice muttered, hiding her face in her arms.

"Sciencey? That's not even a word!" Edward exclaimed, lightly kicking her in the side.

"Ouch! Ed, why must you torment me so?"

"Oh hush, Allie. This is nothing! You should be lucky I agreed to teach you! Just imagine what Teacher would be doing right now!" Ed snapped, pausing as all three teens shuddered.

"Well, maybe I should just give up. How can I perform alchemy if I can't manage the science parts?" Alice grumbled.

"It's not all about science, Alice," Al said, giving her shoulder a slight push so that she was forced to lie on her back. "You've done alchemy before, you can do it again."

"What? I have?" Alice, stopped for a moment, thinking. Ah, right. At Lab 5. She had made the wall explode. "But that had to be due to adrenaline. People can do all sorts of things when hyped up on adrenaline."

"That's true," Ed replied. "But you can still do it."

"No, I really don't think I can." Alice said, sitting up, her brown hair flying into her face as she leaned forward. "How 'bout I just throw rocks at people?"

"That's not going to work, Alice." Ed grumbled, his eye twitching.

"Yes it will." She mumbled, standing up. "I'm taking a potty break. Don't follow me shrimp."

"Shrimp? Who are you calling shrimp?" Ed exclaimed.

Alice just laughed, heading out of the room. Her smile slowly disappeared as the door shut behind her.

She was angry. No, she was _pissed._ Alchemy shouldn't be this hard! She strode down the hall, past the bathroom, and out the front door. She wasn't entirely sure where she was going, but she couldn't stand being in that house at the moment. Plus, leaving would be better for everyone. When Alice got pissed, she got pissed. It wouldn't be long before she was cussing at puppies and scowling at everything. She wasn't pleasant when she was pissed.

Alice walked down the street, weaving to avoid the occasional person. Her mind wandered as she walked. Why was she even trying to learn alchemy? Surely it wouldn't be long before she got sucked back home. Or killed...like Emily. Argh, why had she thought of Emily? She had managed to distract herself so well; the only thing alchemy seemed to be good for. And now she was thinking of her again.

This was stupid. Alice was being stupid. What was she even doing? Why should she be learning alchemy? What was she gonna do with it? She was smart enough to not bring Emily back. So what else was it good for? Why were the Elric's even bothering? Ed seemed to trust her now, but what if that was just an act? What if he really just hated her?

Damn it, she shouldn't be thinking these things. Emily was gone, Alice sucked at alchemy, and Ed would never like her back. That was it. So she needed to stop worrying about it.

"Hey, young lady. You look awfully sad. Want someone to make you feel better?"

Alice froze, looking up in surprise to find a handsome young man with light blonde hair and emerald green eyes standing beside her, smiling. He was dressed in slacks, a dress shirt, and a vest. Fancy to Alice; normal to him. But, Alice had to admit, it looked quite good on him.

"Well..." Alice said, giving him a tiny smile, the normal high-school girl that she had been suppressing around the Elrics slipping out. "Why not. I'd love to feel better."

"Then you've met the right man. My name is Henry Sutton." Henry's smile turned to a dazzling grin and Alice blushed as she took his hand.

"I'm Alice Smith. But you can call me Allie if you'd like."

"Well, Miss Allie, why don't I take you somewhere fun? I'm absolutely positive you'll love it."

Alice just nodded, unable to speak as the man took her hand and began to lead her down the street. She didn't care where he was taking her, just as long as he was there.

* * *

"Brother, Alice isn't anywhere. You've already looked a dozen times."

"But she _has_ to be here. She said she was going to the restroom. Why would she lie?" Edward asked as he paced the kitchen. Al was sitting at the table, watching. A sigh escaped the younger Elric, making his armor rattle.

"Maybe she went for a walk and forgot to tell us. She probably wanted a break." Al said.

"But how could she just forget to tell us? I'm going to throttle her when she gets back!" Ed exclaimed, angry.

"Brother! There's no need to be so threatening. Or angry. I'm sure she's fine."

"You don't know that! Look at what happened to Emily! What Envy goes after Allie? If she went for a walk, then shes all alone and if Envy-"

"Ed. Stop it." Al interrupted, standing. "Alice is stronger than you think, she'll be fine. Besides, Envy would have struck already if it was that important."

Ed opened his mouth to respond but was stopped by the sound of the phone ringing. After staring at Al in surprise for a moment, Ed went over and picked it up.

"Hello?"

_"Fullmetal, you better not be busy, 'cause I need your help with something."_

"Colonel? I kinda am, so this better be good."

_"There's been reports lately of a young man seducing women and killing them. This usually doesn't concern us, but it seems as though he may be using alchemy to lure the women in."_

"Alchemy?"

_"We believe he uses it to change his appearance."_

"Huhn. And women really fall for it?"

_"Yes, Fullmetal, they do. Now stop wasting time. We have a general idea of where he may be hiding. I want you to go check it out."_

"Fine. But I need to go find Alice first."

"_Alice is missing?"  
_

_"_Well, not quite missing. She just left the house without telling us."

_"I'd hurry up if I were you, Fullmetal. I'm sure Alice is fine. Just go check this out first, okay?"_

"Alright, you useless bastard. We're going."

_"What'd you jus-" _Edward cut him off by hanging up the phone, turning to his brother as he did so.

"Come on, Al. The faster we get this done, the faster we can go find Allie."

* * *

**MEIN GOTT. IT'S DONNEEE.**

**This chapter anyway. I've gotta say, I had no clue Alice was gonna wander off and run into a hot guy till she actually wandered off...I know that sounds weird, but seriously. I can't control this story sometimes hahah.**

**I apologize for my sporadic updating. I've been super busy this year. I just finished my term paper, so I decided I'd finish this while the writing kick was on. I'm going to try my best to make my updates better...**

**It would help if you all reviewed too...*cries* No one seems to review anymore...**

**Here, I'll give you some questions you can answer, maybe that'll help...**

**1- What do you think of Henry?**

**2- Any ideas about the 1st half of this story?**

**3- Does my updating make you mad?**

**4- Why are my teachers so mean?**

**5- Does anyone else feel there should be a legal limit to how much homework one can receive?**

**6- Why is my Chem teacher so boring?**

**Please review! You'll make my world. **


	15. Lost in a Dream

**Hello there! We've made it to 15 chapters...that's pretty good in my opinion haha. I'd like to thank all my lovely reviewers, and readers, and watchers! You're all beautiful!**

**So, I didn't take nearly as long as I usually do to update. I'm pretty proud of myself.**

**I guess I'll just let ya'll read...**

**Disclaimer: Must I always repeat this? Sadly, I'll never own FMA...**

***Unbetaed because this has been an absolutely terrible week for me and my beta's had some problems too***

**And away we go!**

* * *

_Chapter 15: Lost in a Dream_

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"Remind me why we're doing this again?" Edward asked Al in irritation, kicking a stone away from him. "We've been looking though the warehouse district for the past three hours and all we've seen is a dog and some hobos."

"Hobos? Has Alice been teaching you words from her world again?" Al replied, looking down at his brother as they walked.

"...Shut up. That's not the point here." Ed muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Well, to answer your question, we're here because Colonel Mustang told us to come here. But I think you may be right. If we haven't fond him yet, we probably won't."

"Then why don't we leave? Maybe if we're lucky, Allie will be home by now."

"Oh? Are you worried about her, Brother?"

"N-no! I just don't want to waste time searching the city for her!" Ed exclaimed, turning on his heel to leave.

"Heh, sure, whatever you say, Ed." Al muttered, chuckling as he followed his brother.

**~X~**

The sun was bright and reflected off of Henry's perfectly white teeth with a blinding intensity. His hair blew gently in the breeze; his soft, pink lips up-turned in a smile. Alice held on to his hand tightly, overjoyed that she got walk with him like this. They had yet to reach their destination but Alice didn't mind. She felt that she could walk with Henry like this for the rest of her life.

"You seem awfully happy, Miss Allie. Does this mean I'm succeeding so far?" Henry asked, turning to smile down at her. Alice blushed a bright red, her green eyes meeting his similarly green ones and making her forget how to breathe for a second.

"Ah. Y-yes. Very much so. I-I mean, yes, you're doing g-great, Henry." Alice stuttered, her blush deepening. Henry laughed a beautiful sounding laugh, leaning down and giving her a soft kiss on the cheek.

"You're absolutely adorable when you blush, Miss Allie!"

Alice smiled in embarassment, leaning into Henry's side. Walking with Henry like this was so perfect, she didn't have a care in the world. She still didn't know where they were going but it didn't really matter. Henry was the love of her life, should it matter where they were, as long as they were together?

Something in the very back of her mind said, yes, it should matter. It was a tiny voice, one that had refused to shut up since she had gone off with Henry. It was slowly but surely getting softer though; it wouldn't be long before it was gone completely and Alice could truly enjoy her time with Henry.

"We're here, Miss Allie. What do you think?"

Alice looked away from Henry to find that they were standing in the middle of the prettiest garden she had seen in her life. The lighting was perfect, the path made of old stones. Roses and lilies lined the path, leading to a small clearing that contained Cherry Blossom trees in full bloom. Under the trees was a white table set for tea, two white chairs on either side. The whole place smelled like a wonderful perfume.

"It's beautiful..." Alice whispered, trying to take it all in.

"Just like you, Miss Allie." Henry said softly, leaning down and giving her a kiss. Alice felt that it was the most wonderful thing she had ever experienced and wished that it would never end.

The little voice piped up again, even softer than before. Wasn't there someone else? Someone that Alice desperately wanted to kiss? Someone that she loved? Someone that wasn't Henry?

Of course not! She told herself. Henry was the one for her, there would _never_ be anyone else and that voice was insane for thinking differently.

Because honestly, there _was_ no one else. Alice couldn't for the life of her remember ever caring for anyone other than Henry. Or even knowing anyone other than Henry. She didn't even know what she had been doing before Henry offered to take her to this amazing garden. Did it matter? Henry obviously hadn't been there, meaning it probably wasn't worth remembering. She had probably just been wandering around in a daze, waiting for her lovely Henry to find her.

"Come. Let's have some tea," Henry said, pulling Alice from her thoughts as he led her to the table beneath the Cherry Blossom trees. She blushed again, taking a seat and smiling at Henry as he sat down across from her.

"To us!" He said, raising his tea cup.

"To us," Alice responded, a smile on her lips. Wonderful, just wonderful.

**~X~**

"Brother, I don't think punching the wall is going to make Alice come home faster."

"She should be home by now! It's been hours and hours! Who takes that long of a walk? Something must have happened to her, she must have gotten lost, or hurt, or kid-"

"Edward, calm down. Let's just call Mustang and let him know she's missing. Then we can go out and ask around. Maybe someone's seen her."

Edward took a deep breath, letting it out in a whoosh. Why was he so worried? It was true that he considered the otherworldly girl as a friend now, but did friends usually get this worried about other friends? Maybe he was just on edge because of what had happened to Emily...

But honestly, as terrible it sounded, he was just glad it hadn't been Alice.

Blushing, Ed stalked out of the room, his golden eyes burning. He snatched up the phone, dialing the Colonel's number.

_"Yes?"_

"Alright Colonel Useless, we have a problem."

_"Fullmetal? What problem? Have you found our man yet?"_

"No. I'm more concerned about the problem than about that."

_"Then tell me what the problem is!" _Mustang snapped, sounding irritated.

"I would if you'd let me speak!"

"Just tell him already, Brother!" Al exclaimed in experation.

"Alright, alright. Look, Allie's still missing."

_"Oh? Alice is still missing? How did this occur? I'd love to know."_

"This isn't a joke you bastard! Alice could be in real trouble!"

_"And what do you want me to do?"_

"I don't know, look for her? Do something! You have more pull than I do!"

_"I don't think pull is going to help here."_

"It could! Just, help me find her okay?"

_"I suppose I can send Hawkeye and few others out to look for her. But that's it considering she isn't offically missing."_

"Fine. Contact me if you find her." Ed snarled, hanging up before Mustang could respond.

The two brothers stood in silence for a few minutes, before Al decided to speak up.

"Are you alright, Brother?"

"...I'm fine. Come on, let's go find, Allie."

**~X~**

"How is your tea, Miss Allie?"

"It's wonderful, just like this garden," Alice answered, blushing again. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "I had no idea Central had places like this."

"You just have to know where to look." Henry replied, winking.

The two fell into a comfortable silence, sipping their tea and listening the nearby birds sing. Alice couldn't believe how lucky she was, getting to have tea with Henry like this. The thought made her giggle, her hand shooting up to cover her mouth. Henry looked over at her with a confused smile, his head tilted slightly to the left. It made him look absolutely adorable to Alice.

"What's so funny, love?" He asked.

Alice blushed again, smiling as the nickname. "Nothing really. I'm just so happy."

"I'm glad." Henry responded, his smile growing. "Say, do you wish to try something really fun, Miss Allie?"

"Fun?" Alice asked, brightening up even more. "Of course! What is it?"

"It's an old game I used to play with my brothers growing up." He began to explain, getting up and offering her a hand. She took it with a smile.

"It's a very simple game really. A game of endurance. All you have to do is close your eyes and sit in a chair while I do different things to try and make you laugh. Would you like to try it?"

"Y-yes! It's sounds like fun!" Alice cried, smiling as she followed Henry over to a chair placed in the middle of the garden. Henry helped her sit, pulling out a blindfold and placing it around her eyes.

"Don't be frightened, my love. This is only to make sure you don't peek."

Alice nodded. How could she be afraid of anything Henry did? He would never hurt her.

"Are you ready, Miss Allie? Let's begin."

**~X~**

Edward let out a groan, slumping down onto the bench. Al took a seat next to his brother, worry somehow radiating off of him. They had been out for Alice for almost an hour and so far not a single person they asked had seen her. They hadn't recieved any word from Mustang either, leaving Edward in a very pissy mood.

"Why haven't we been able to find her? Surely she wouldn't wander off that far..." Ed muttered, chewing on his lip as he slid down either further. "Asking random people is a waste of time!"

"I'm sure we'll find someone who saw her. We just have to keep asking." Al replied, looking around. "Why don't we go ask that little old lady? She might know something..."

"Probably not."

"Well, I'll just go talk to her by myself." Al said, getting up and heading across the street. The old woman looked up as he drew near, giving him a small smile. His armor didn't seem to bother her.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but did you by any chance see a girl today about...five and a half feet tall? Long brown hair, with highlights when the sun hits it? She has green eyes...and she was wearing khaki pants and a black shirt."

"Ah, yes actually. I saw her this morning! She looked very, very upset. Did you upset her my boy?" The woman inquired, looking up at him.

"Ahahah, no. My Brother did...could you tell me where she went? Did she talk to anyone? Go into any stores?"

"No stores but...ah yes! A handsome young man with blonde hair went up to her. I remember they spoke for a while...and then they left together."

"Do you remember where they went?"

"Ah...They went north I believe. I think they turned left at that intersection up there."

"Thank you very much, ma'am!" Al exclaimed, giving the woman a wave as he headed back over to Ed. "Brother! I know what direction she headed in."

"Eh? That old lady actually knew something?" Ed asked, sitting up with wide eyes.

"Yes! Only a direction, but it's better than nothing. Come on!"

Ed leapt up, hurrying after his little brother. Maybe they'd find someone else who had seen her. He hoped so. Something inside him was terrified of Alice getting hurt. He needed to make sure that didn't happen.

**~X~**

Alice was doing her best to keep a smile off her face Henry walked around her, occasionally reaching out to tickle her. So far she had managed not to laugh. She was winning.

"You're doing great, love." Henry said from somewhere on her right. "Now it's time to get serious. I will win this game, Miss Allie."

Alice once again fought to join Henry in his laughter. His laugh was just so wonderful to listen to. Like bells or a-

What? For some reason there was a pain in her right arm and she grimanced. This game wasn't supposed to hurt, was it?

"Sorry, love. I did not mean to hurt you."

Ah. It had been an accident. Of course! Her Henry would never hurt her. He loved her too mu-

Again. This time on her left arm. And again on her right shoulder.

Henry did not apologize this time.

Just what was he doing? It felt like he was slashing at her with something sharp...A rose? Would a rose hurt that much?

Alice flinched as he slashed at her more, trying not to panic as warm liquid ran down her finger tips.

There was no way that could be a rose. It had to be a knife or something. But why would Henry use a knife? Why was Henry hurting her?

He kept slashing at her, no apologies, no reassurances. The voice was back, screaming at her to fight back, to run.

But she couldn't do that. She couldn't hurt Henry, even if he was hurting her. Surely he had a good reason? If she could just get herself to ask him, he'd explain and everything would be fine.

"Henry?"

"Hush, Darling. I'm only helping you. This is all part of the game."

More slashing. This couldn't be part of the game, it just couldn't. She bit her lip, unable to fight back the tears that escape her eyes. It _hurt._ Had Emily felt like this in her last moments? Was this how she died?

...Who was Emily?

Alice couldn't remember and at the moment she didn't care because Henry had just gone a step further. There was a sharp pain in her abdomin, caused by the knife that Henry had just stabbed her with.

Would this be how she died? Stabbed to death by her love?

"I think that's enough. Just one more cut...and it'll all be over."

No! No no no. She didn't want to die! She didn't care what Henry would think or say; Alice wanted to live!

"GET AWAY FROM HER!"

That voice...it was so familiar...where did she know it from?

There was a loud, echoing crash to her left, followed by yells and curses. Echoing? But weren't they in a garden?

Someone was yelling her name but she didn't have the strength to answer them. The black at the edge of her vision was so inviting...

"Alice! Allie!"

So familiar. But the black was so nice looking...

So Alice let it take her.

* * *

**Cliff hanger!**

**I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist ORZ**

**This may or may not be one of the longest chapters I've ever written...and it jumps around a lot... Sorry about that =3=**

**More EdxAllie stuff in this chapter! Whoo! And alot of other stuff...That whole thing with Henry? Don't think I've ever really written like that before...Hope it was okay.**

**I haven't been getting very many reviews lately...and that makes me a sad panda! (A cookie to anyone that gets that reference xD)**

**So please review! It'll make me write chapter 16 much faster! **


	16. Waiting For This Dream to Pass

**Hellooooooo! We've reached chapter 16! And my god, I'm uploading like, a month after my last update! I'm kinda proud of myself, hahhh. **

**Thanks to all my lovely, lovely readers, reviewers, watchers, favoriters, and creepers! Hahah**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA, as per usual. I also don't own "Fire and Ice." That belongs to Robert Frost.**

***Once again, unbetaed. I think I may be beta-less... I suppose I'll be okay...***

**Here we go!**

* * *

_Chapter 16: Waiting For This Dream To Pass_

* * *

"Hey, Allie...wake up."

"Eh? Wha? Who's...?"

"It's me. Get up, class is over!"

"Eughh..."

Alice slowly sat up, reaching up and stretching before grabbing her bag and standing. Emily stood beside her desk, books in hand, an irritated look on her face.

"You must have been having a good dream," Emily said, watching as Alice scooped up her notebook, the two of them heading for the classroom door, "You were drooling."

"What? Why didn't you tell me sooner? Geez..." Alice muttered, quickly wiping off her mouth with her sleeve. Emily laughed, adjusting her books.

"Well? Was it a good dream?" The girl asked, walking up to her locker and opening it. Alice leaned against the one next to it, biting her lip.

"Uh...I dunno actually. I don't remember all of it...I do remember that there was this hot guy...and a suit of armor...and...you were there? Oh! There was this tea party in this really pretty garden. And there was another hot guy in the garden with me. Can you believe it? Two hot guys in one dream!"

"Really, Alice? Hahhh. And a tea party? Did you read Alice in Wonderland last hour or something?" Asked Emily, raising an eyebrow as she pulled on her coat and shut her locker. Alice shrugged, shoving her notebook in her bag and pulling out her keys.

"Nah. I've never even read that book. I dunno, it was a weird dream...and it was realllyyyy long. Like, unbelieveably long. Just how long was I out?"

"Well..." Emily said slowly, leading the way as the two girls headed for the parking lot, "I think you feel asleep during the French Revolution, which was about twenty minutes into class. So you were asleep for like, forty minutes. It probably just seemed long."

"Yeah, I guess." Alice replied, unlocking her car and climbing in. Emily slid into the passenger seat, fiddling with the radio as soon as Alice started the car.

Alice adjusted her seatbelt, leaning forward and waiting for an opening in the flow of cars. There were quite a few of them and she had just leaned back in her seat when she caught a flash of yellow walking towards her car. She leaned forward again, squinting a bit to make out the persons face. She gasped loudly when she recognized them.

"Holy shit! Emmy! Emmy, look!" Alice exclaimed, smacking Emily's arm until the girl looked out the window.

"What?" She asked, looking around and yanking her arm away.

"Over there! That guy with the blonde hair! He's one of the hot guys from my dream!"

"What?" Emily yelped, looking at Alice in surprise. "You didn't tell me the hot guys from your dream were people at school!"

"They aren't!"

"Wait...what? Then who's that?"

"I don't know...all I know is that he's the guy I saw most. I'm pretty sure he pushed me off a wall at one point..."

"What the hell?" Emily asked, giving Alice a look.

"I dunno! ...I'm gonna go talk to him."

"What? Allie! Alice! Get back here!"

It was too late, though. Alice was already out of the car, keys in hand, heading for the man with the long blonde hair.

"Excuse me!" She called once she was close enough, "Hey! Guy with the long hair! Hey! Are you deaf or something?"

Alice stopped in front of the man, her hands on her hips. He looked up but didn't seem to see her. He just gave a sad smile, his eyes focused on something beyond her.

"I'm sorry."

"What?" Alice spun around, afraid that her car was suddenly going to explode or that there was a car accident she hadn't noticed. But nothing happened. So she turned back to the man, angry that he had tricked her.

"Just what do you think you're doing? Who are you?"

"I should have looked for you first. You're better now...but you still won't wake up. Are you mad at me Allie? Is that why you're still asleep?"

"Excuse...me?" Alice's eyebrows furrowed together, completely at a lost as to why this guy was saying these things or what he was looking at. Or how he knew her name.

"It's been a week now. I'm really...worried Allie. Won't you wake up?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Alice exclaimed in frustration, glaring at the blonde. "I'm wide awake! And how do you know my name?"

The man just smiled at her, closing his eyes and...fading away.

"...What the fuck just happened?" Alice muttered, staring at the spot the man had been occupying in confusion. The loud blaring of a horn made her jump; turning she found that she was blocking an angry seniors path. Giving an embarrassed wave, Alice hurried back to her own car.

"What was that all about?" Emily asked, watching as Alice buckled up and started the car.

"I honestly don't know. Let's just go home..."

**~X~**

Edward let out a soft sigh, slumping down in the chair he was occupying. His eyes were currently watching the rooms other occupant, a teenage girl who was fast asleep in the hospital bed. Well, not exactly asleep. More like in a mild coma.

Alice had been like this for almost a week, with no signs of waking up. And Edward was a bit scared.

They had made it in time to keep that bastard Henry from delivering the fatal blow, and while Alice had been injured, a lot of the wounds had been shallow. The only real problem was the stab wound.

The alchemist bit his lip. He had come in here every day, staying as long as he could. Occasionally he would talk to her, to see if he would get a reaction. About an hour before, Ed was sure he had seen her move a bit when he spoke to her, but now he wasn't sure.

"Brother? I think you should get some rest."

Ed looked up to find Al standing in the door way, frowning a bit as he shifted his eyes back to Alice.

"They'll call us if she wakes up, you know."

"I know that." Ed muttered.

"You really should take a break, Brother. Besides, Colonel Mustang just called. He says that they know how Henry did what he did."

"And?"

"He wouldn't tell me over the phone."

"Damn. Well, I guess we'd better go see Mustang."

.

.

.

"Alright Colonel Useless. How'd he do it?"

"Excuse me?" Roy Mustang looked up from his paperwork (which he _wasn't _doing) to find Edward standing in front of him.

"Henry. Al said that you found out how he tricked Allie," the blonde said, resting his hands on Mustang's desk.

"Oh, right. Yes we did," Mustang answered, shoving his paperwork out of the way and pulling a folder out of his desk.

"For starters, he uses both Amestrian alchemy and Xingese alchemy. He claims to have studied in Xing for five years."

"What does him studying in Xing have to do with this?" Ed interrupted, raising an eyebrow.

"Hold your horses, Fullmetal. I'm getting there." Roy replied, glaring at the blonde before looking back down at the folder. "The Xingese tend to use their alchemy for medical purposes. Their alchemy has a lot to do with the body and it's energy flow. As far as we can tell, Mr. Sutton used a type of neurological alchemy to control his victims brainwaves. This means he could easily control what they see, what they feel, and what they remember.

"We won't know exactly how he used his alchemy until Alice wakes up but we know that he liked to trick young women into trusting them and then cutting them up for fun. He killed at least eight others before he got to Alice."

"How exactly did he do that?" Al asked, "How do you control someones brainwaves with alchemy?"

"Well," Roy said, placing the folder down and looking up at the Elric brothers, "Mr. Sutton described the process to us. He had alchemic circles on the palms of his hands. He says that by touching someone, he can send signals through these circles and into the nervous system. He has to be touching the victim constantly at first to get it to work but eventually he can let go and still control them."

"Is Henry still controlling Allie? Is that why she hasn't woken up yet?" Edward asked, straightening up.

"We don't know. Henry won't say." Roy replied, folding his hands on the desk. "His charges may lead to execution. We may have to wait until then to find out."

"What?" Edward cried, leaning forward again. "Are you fucking kidding? I'm not waiting for the bastard to be excuted! Let me talk to him."

"No."

"Let me talk to him!"

"I said no, Fullmetal."

"Why?" Ed asked in anger. Roy narrowed his eyes in return.

"We don't want him controlling you, Fullmetal. That would just make everything harder."

"You have to let me talk to him! If he still has a hold on Allie, maybe I can convince him to let her go!"

"Doubtful."

"Let me talk to him!"

"Fulmetal, I said-"

"Please!"

Roy froze, as did everyone else in the room. After all, it wasn't everyday that Edward Elric said please. Roy stared at the blonde with wide eyes for a few moments before looking away, thinking. The whole office was silent, waiting for the Colonel's answer.

"...Fine. But only for five minutes!" Mustang said finally, huffing in defeat. Edward's face broke into a grin.

"That's all the time I need."

**~X~**

_"Some say the world will end in fire,_

_Some say in ice._

_From what I've tasted of desire_

_I hold with those who favor fire._

_But if it had to perish- _Argh, screw this. I hate poetry!" Alice exclaimed, smacking her English book in frustration. What were her teachers thinking, assigning all this poetry on a weekend? Alice gave a sigh, her head falling to rest on her book.

Suddenly her phone started going off and she reached over to grab it. Lifting her head, she dropped it on her book, tapping the screen to open the text message.

**From: Emmy**

**You still havent told me about that dude from school. Spill. Now.**

**Recieved: 7:23 P.M.**

Alice rolled her eyes, quickly sending a message saying that there wasn't anything for her to "spill." Emily thought otherwise.

**From: Emmy**

**Thats a lie. That has to be a lie. Look, if we go shopping tomorrow and I buy us coffee, will you tell me?**

**Recieved: 7:26 P.M.**

**...**

**To: Emmy**

**While I appreciate the coffee, theres nothing for me to tell!**

**Sent: 7:27 P.M.**

**...**

**From: Emmy**

**There has to be something**

**Recieved: 7:29 P.M.**

**...**

**To: Emmy**

**There isnt, I promise**

**Sent: 7:30 P.M.**

**...**

**From: Emmy**

**There has to be. Cuz he's standing outside your house right now.**

**Recieved: 7:31 P.M.**

Alice leapt out of her chair, hurrying over to her window and pushing the curtains back. Sure enough, the blonde boy from the parking lot was standing on her front lawn, staring up at her window. Alice backpeddled, grabbing her phone and calling Emily.

_"See?" _Her friend cried as she picked up, "_He's outside your house!"_

"I noticed! Why the hell is he out there? How'd you know he was out there? What do I do?"

"_One thing at a time Allie! I dunno why he's out there, my mom saw him on her way home, and dunno, maybe CALL THE POLICE?"_

"But... he hasn't done anything yet. Maybe I should go to talk to him."

"_Are you crazy? 'Maybe I should go talk to him.' That's what people say before they get MURDERED."_

"No it's not! Stop making things up! Geez. Look, I'm just gonna run out there real quick, ask what he's doing and ask him to leave. If he refuses, I'll call the police."

_"This doesn't sound safe, Alice! Just call the police and lock your doors or something."_

"No, no. I'll be fine. I'm sure he's just lost...or something. I'll call you back, 'kay?"

_"...Fine. You better call me back! Don't get murdered!"_

"Yeah, yeah. Bye."

Alice hung up, shoving her phone in her pocket and heading downstairs. She stopped at the front door, her hand on the doorknob. Maybe Emily was right? Alice was home alone after all... She should probably just call the police. But there was something about the blonde that was...familiar. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it was there.

Taking a deep breath, Alice pushed open the door and crossed the porch, waiting for the male to notice her. Once again, he seemed to be staring at something only he could see. Maybe he was some escaped mental patient? Alice was really beginning to regret going outside when the blonde finally looked at her. His golden eyes flashed in the dim light, widening slightly when he saw her.

"Can I...help you?" She asked, moving closer. His eyes followed her as she walked, making the hair on the back her of neck stand up. This was far too creepy for Alice's liking.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Alice waved her hand in front of his face, unsure if his eyes following it was good or bad. His eyes went back to her face when she stopped waving and he spoke.

"Alice? Do you realize what's going on right now?"

"Uh...what? What do you mean by that?"

"I mean...do you realize you're in a coma right now?"

Alice raised an eyebrow, a bit worried. This guy couldn't be entirely sane; standing out here with him probably wasn't safe.

"Look Edward, I don't know what your going on about but-" Alice stopped, her eyes widening. Edward? That name was awfully familiar, but it couldn't be this mans name. No way! So why had she said it?

"You remember my name! That's good!" 'Edward' said, smiling. He was so cute when he smiled!

Wait, what? Where had that come from? And how on earth was his name _actually _Edward? Alice shook her head slightly, trying to clear it.

"Look, " she said, determined to end this before it got any weirder. "I have to go. Could you kindly remove yourself from my lawn?"

Edward's smile dimmed and Alice felt like her heart was breaking. He had to go, now!

"Alright...I'll come see you tomorrow, Allie."

Alice reached out for no reason at all as he walked away and she slapped her own hand in irritation. If that man really did show up the next day, she may just call the cops!

**~X~**

"I'm not going to be here long, so if you don't answer right away, you'll regret it." Edward said, slamming down into a metal chair. Henry sat across from him on the other side of the table, smiling.

"That all depends on what you're asking, good sir. But I'll answer to the best of my ability."

Ed's eyes narrowed, his fists clentching.

"Look, I know what you did to Alice. All I'm asking is for you to release her. It won't be hard, she's already beginning to pull away. But you have to let her go."

"I would if I could...but you see, I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I already have."

"What?" Ed asked, leaning back in surprise.

"I've already released Miss Allie. The only reason she hasn't woken up is because her mind hasn't let her."

"B-but...what? She spoke in her sleep yesterday. I thought that meant she was fighting you!"

"More like fighting herself. Is that all you wanted? For me to let her go?"

"...Yes." Ed sighed and got up. If Henry wasn't holding her captive, he wasn't needed anymore.

A few soldiers walked past him to collect the young killer, leaving Edward alone in the hallway.

If Alice was fighting herself...what was he supposed to do?

* * *

**OTZ**

**I don't really like the ending of this chapter...And I really hope Ed doesn't seem OOC...It's hard to write him in situations like this.**

**I wasn't planning on making the Henry Arc last this long. It was only suppose to last like, two chapters. Now it's going to last for at least one more...**

**I hope the explanation of Henrys neurologic alchemy made sense. I honestly have no clue if something like this would work. But considering that alchemy is a dead science (Calm yourselves, I'm only speaking logically), I don't think it matters.**

**BTW, that Robert Frost poem? It's pretty great. If you've never read "Fire and Ice", go look it up. And look up his other stuff too.**

**So, I'm 10 reviews away from reaching 100! Any chance you lovely people could help me reach that? And exceed that? I'd offer some sort of prize for being the 100th reviewer, but with ACTs coming up, I wouldn't get to it till like, next year. (Not even kidding, I'm a bad procrastinator) How about I give you a shoutout? Yes, that works.**

**So please review!**

**Until next time!**

**Fun Fact:**** The word 'fuck' started out as an acronym in England that stood for ****F****ornication ****U****nder ****C****onsent of the ****K****ing. Just thought I'd share that ;3**


	17. Time to Wake Up

**Goodness, this Henry Arc has really gotten me writing...**

**Over 100 reviews! Thank you all so much! You're amazing and beautiful! **

**As promised, a special shoutout to my hundredth reviewer; **_**LeFay Strent**_**, you're awesome!**

***Unbeta'd***

**Disclaimer: I think this has been established.**

**Away we go!**

* * *

_Chapter 17: Time to Wake Up_

* * *

THUMP.

Alice's head shot up with surprising speed, spinning around to access the situation. She found a thick book lying on her desk, her entire class staring at her. And standing right in front of Alice was Mrs. Jones, her English teacher. Alice blushed a deep red, slumping down in her seat.

"So Miss Smith, not only did you not finish your homework, you had the audacity to fall asleep in my class?" Mrs. Jones asked, a deep frown on her face.

"Uh...Sorry, Ma'am." Alice muttered, her blush deepening as she bowed her head. She could easily hear her classmates snickering and whispering behind her. Mrs. Jones on the other hand, didn't seem to notice.

"If you're going to waste your time sleeping, you'd best not do it in my class."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Mrs. Jones gave a harsh nod, picking up the book she had dropped on Alice's desk and heading back to the front of the room. Alice stayed slumped in her desk, her cheeks still red.

It was that Edward boy's fault. All of it! He had been showing up on her lawn every night for the past three days. True, it was partly her fault for going out there to talk to him instead of calling the police, but still! She kept telling him to leave her alone and he refused.

And of course, there was the whole dream thing.

When she had left school on Friday, the dream had been exactly that. A _dream._ But the night before she had told Edward all about it. He had seemed excited about it and since Alice for some reason loved making this stranger happy, they had ended up discussing it for hours. Which was why she hadn't finished her English homework (or any other homework for that matter) and ended up falling asleep in class again.

The bell rang shrilly and Alice leapt out of her seat, desperate to get away from the embarrassment that Mrs. Jones had caused. Knowing the people in her class, the episode would be well known by lunch. The thought brought another blush to Alice's cheeks and she ducked her head to hide it. Considering she was in a busy hallway filled with moving bodies, this wasn't a good idea.

"Oof!"

"Ack! Oh man, I'm sorry!"

"No, no, " Alice said quickly, grabbing her books and getting up. "I should have been paying more attention."

"No, I should have too."

Alice brushed herself off, finally looking up at her victim. She froze for a moment, staring at the blonde haired boy in wonder. It was guy from her dream! The one in the garden!

"I don't think we've met before. Are you new here?" She asked. He nodded, giving her a smile.

"Yep. I moved here from Minnesota last month," He stuck his hand out towards her, "I'm Henry Sutton."

"Alice Smith. It's nice to meet you, Henry." Alice replied, shaking his hand and smiling.

"Say, I know this is a bit sudden, considering we just met, but would you like to go get some coffee on Saturday?"

Alice blushed again, but this time it was for a much different reason. "Well...sure, why not? Sounds fun."

"Great!" Henry replied, still smiling. "I'll see you then."

Alice nodded, giving him a wave. She stood there watching him, not moving until the bell rang, echoing loudly in the now empty hall. Alice's eyes widened as she realized what this meant.

"Shit!"

.

.

.

"Care to explain why you were late to Chemistry?" Emily asked, looking up at Alice as she twisted the cap off her waterbottle. Alice just sighed, pushing her tray to the side and flopping over the lunch table. Emily made a little noise, quickly pulling her own tray out of the line of fire.

"." Alice mumbled, her voice muffled by the table.

"Sorry, could you repeat that in English?" Emily asked, picking up her sandwich and taking a bite. Alice pulled herself up dramatically, pulling her tray back so she could eat.

"I crashed into this guy outside my English class and we ended up talking. Then he asked if I wanted to get coffee with him on Saturday and I said yes."

"You said yes to a guy you crashed into in the hallway?"

"...Yes."

"Good grief, Allie. You don't even know him! He's probably gonna show up high and try to rip your pants off or something."

"Hey! You don't know that!" Alice responded, pouting a little. "It'll be fine, trust me!"

.

.

.

Edward seemed to have the same view of Henry as Emily. Well, almost.

"You can't! Allie, promise me you won't go!"

Alice raised an eyebrow, confused as to why Edward was panicking all of a sudden. She hadn't even meant to tell him about Henry, but it had just kind of slipped out. But then, she had told herself she wasn't going to talk to Edward but she had kind of ended up talking to him anyway. They were currently sitting together in her neighbors old tree house.

"Why not? It's not like anything bad will happen."

"Alice, you can't go out with Henry. He's a murderer!"

"Excuse me?" Alice exclaimed, leaning closer. "And how would you know, Edward?"

"Because he almost killed you!"

"What?" Alice asked, her voice lowering. She already knew that Edward thought he knew her, that Edward believed the the History class dream was real. But claiming she had almost been murdered? That was taking it a bit too far.

"Who do you think you are, Edward? As if you know who I am and what's happened to me! You're damn lucky I haven't called the cops, 'cause I'm pretty damn sure you're an escaped mental patient!"

"Alice-"

"No! I'm tired of this! You keep showing up at my house even though I've told you to leave me alone! I can't finish my homework and then I get in trouble! God, you didn't even see me the first time we talked and now you just won't go away!"

"You're the one who keeps talking to me, Allie. And-"

"I know! I know." Alice cried, frowning. "And I don't know why. Any sane person would have called the police and forgotten about you! God, what's wrong with me?"

"Nothing. You're perfect, Allie." Edward whispered, so softly that Alice almost didn't catch it.

"What did you just say?" She asked, turning towards him.

"Nothing." He replied, his voice louder this time. Alice's frown deepened and she crossed her arms.

"I'm going to see Henry on Saturday. That's final."

Edward heaved a sigh. "Fine. But I'm coming with you."

"What? Absolutely not! I'm seventeen, not twelve!" Alice exclaimed, embarrassed.

"I won't let him see me. Just let me come with. I have to know you're safe." Edward replied, looking her in the eye. Alice blushed, opening her mouth and finding that she could no longer speak. Finally, seeing no other option, she gave him a nod.

**~X~**

"Have you been talking to Alice again, Brother?" Al asked, looking up as Edward entered their apartment.

"Yeah. It's still so weird, the doctors don't get it at all. It's like she's awake...but she isn't." Edward replied, slumping down on the couch and covering his eyes with his human arm. "She knows I'm there and she knows she talking to me, but it's like I'm in her mind with her. She keeps saying that we're outside on her lawn or something."

"You told her what happened, right?" Al questioned, taking a seat beside him, his armor creaking as he moved. Ed peeked out at him for a moment before turning away again.

"You need some oil, Al." He said, sitting up. "She thinks it was all a dream. She knows what happened, but she thinks everything was a dream. Including us. But I think she's starting to realize that's a lie. She keeps talking to me even though she claims she doesn't want to. And...Henry has shown up in her mind."

"What? Do you think she's going to make herself relive it or something?"

"No...I don't think so." Ed replied with a frown. "She said she was meeting him for coffee. I convinced her to let me come with, even though I can't physically go. I'm thinking she has to face him again to wake up or something stupid like that."

"Then help her, Brother. If she has to fight him or face him, help her."

"I'm trying! But how are you supposed to help someone fight if the battle is taking place in their mind?"

"Just...make sure she knows you're there, Ed. I think that would help more than you think." Al said calmly, getting up. Ed watched his brother leave the room, a light blush on his cheeks. Just what was Al implying?

_Nothing. You're perfect. _

Good god, what was _he _implying?

**~X~**

"Are you sure you have to come with me, Edward?" Alice asked, adjusting her bag. They were currently in the parking lot of the cafe that she and Henry were to meet at. This was Alice's last ditch effort to rid herself of Edward.

"Yes, I'm sure. You can just call me Ed, you know." The blonde replied, his golden eyes glinting in the sunlight. It was beautiful.

Alice looked away in an attempt to hide the blush that she was sure she had. She was here to have coffee with Henry, not Edward. She needed to stop this.

"I know. But..."

"But what?"

"Uh..." Honestly, Alice didn't know. She had tried to call him Ed, but the moment she had, everything had felt...weird. Alright, that was a weird way to put it, but Alice didn't know how to describe it. All she knew was that if she started calling him "Ed", she would start believing him about the dream. She was not about to do that.

"I don't know, okay? I'm heading in. Don't you _dare_ embarrass me." She said finally, giving him a look before spinning on her heel and heading inside.

The cafe was a quaint little place that Alice had only been to once before. It had a homely feel to it and smelled of coffee and chocolate. A very nice smell in Alice's opinion. She spotted Henry at a table near the back, seated underneath an impressionist's rendition of the Mona Lisa. He smiled when he saw her, giving her a wave. She automatically smiled back, weaving between the other tables.

"I'm glad you're here." Henry said as she sat down across from him. He green eyes shone in the lamplight and Alice couldn't help but compare them to Edward's.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Alice replied, giving a soft laugh. She leaned forward a bit, watching as he waved for a waitress and placed his order. Alice gave the menu a quick look before ordering coffee and a muffin. Once the waitress was gone, Henry leaned back in his seat, smiling still.

"So, tell me about yourself, Miss Allie."

_I will win this game, Miss Allie._

Wh-what? Where had that come from? Giving her head a slight shake, she proceeded to tell Henry what he wanted to know, asking her own questions when appropriate. Her coffee and muffin were delicious and this date was turning out to be quite fun. In fact, it would be perfect if Alice didn't have a bodyguard.

Edward had come in about five minutes after she had and had taken a seat on the other side of the cafe. Henry hadn't even noticed him but Alice couldn't keep herself from glancing over at him every so often. He looked so lonely, sitting there by himself. Alice found out that she wasn't the only one who thought that when a woman sat down across from him and started talking to him. Edward had been polite and smiled at her but eventually he must have turned her down because she left and he didn't.

Alice let out a small sigh of relief as the woman left, a bit confused as to why she would react that way. But she didn't really have time to spend wondering about it.

"Say, would you like to go see a movie or something, Allie?"

Alice quickly turned back to look at Henry, a light blush dusting her cheeks. When had she given him permission to call her Allie?

"Sure. What do you want to see?" She replied, hoping he hadn't noticed her watching Edward.

"I honestly don't mind. You can decide."

"Alright. There's theater right down the street, we walk from here." Alice said, getting up. She was confusing herself. Yes, there was a theater down the street but it wasn't nearly as nice as the one by their school. So why was she suggesting they go to that one? One glance at Edward gave her an answer. She actually _wanted_ Edward to follow them. What was wrong with her?

Henry came back from paying, offering her his arm with a smile. She took it, smiling back and letting him lead her outside. Alice was so distracted by her thoughts that she didn't realized Henry had turned the wrong way until he lead her into an alley.

"Henry?"

"Sorry, must have taken a wrong turn."

Wrong turn? How does one take a wrong turn when their destination is on the same street as their starting point? Suddenly Alice was very nervous.

_He almost killed you!_

No, no. There was no reason to worry. Only the Henry in her dream had done that. Right? Right. It made sense that Henry was lost, right? He had only been here for a month.

At least, that's what she kept telling herself until Henry pulled out a gun.

"H-Henry?" Alice exclaimed, dropping her coat and stepping back.

"Sorry, Miss Allie. It's nothing personal."

Alice's eyes locked on the barrel of the gun as it was aimed at her. Oh god, she should have listened to Emily. She should have listened to Ed! She didn't want to be killed like this!

"Please, p-please don't! I'll give you my m-money or whatever, just p-please don't k-kill me!"

_Hush, Darling. This is all part of the game._

"Please!"

There was a very loud cracking noise as the gun went off and Alice screamed. She squeezed her eyes shut and threw her arms up as if it would help stop the bullet. She braced herself but the bullet never came.

"Leave her alone, Henry."

Alice's eyes flew open to find that Ed was standing in front of her, a steel wall slowly disintegrating in front of him. It took her a few moments to realize what had happened.

Ed had somehow found her and blocked the bullet with a wall. An _alchemic_ wall. He had saved her.

He had _saved _her.

Henry was running now, gun still in hand, but Ed didn't give chase. Instead, he turned to her, concern apparent on his face.

"Alice? Are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"N-No. You...saved me. You saved me...Ed." She said, trying to wrap her mind around what had just happened. Ed's alchemy, Henry, the way Ed was looking at her right now.

Did it mean the dream was real?

Had Ed been right?

"Is this...really...a dream, Ed?"

"In a way, yes." Ed replied, walking over to her.

"Then...what I thought was a dream, was real?"

"Yes."

"But, how to I get out of this dream then?" Alice asked, her brow furrowing. All of sudden, she wanted to leave. She wanted to leave this alley with Ed and never look back.

"You just wake up."

**~X~**

"You just wake up." Ed said softly, smiling at Alice. She was finally realizing the truth. He could only hope that she would wake up soon. Fate decided to take charge much sooner than he anticipated.

Alice sat up so fast that Ed wasn't entirely sure she was actually awake until she turned to look at him with wide green eyes. And then she burst into tears.

Edward didn't have time to do anything but gasp before she reached up and grabbed him, pulling him down. Ed let out an audible 'oof' as he fell over Alice and landed beside her in a heap on the bed. Alice didn't seem to care though. She just threw her arms around him, her hands clenching the back of his shirt like a lifeline, her face buried in his shoulder.

It only a took a second for Edward to respond. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close and burying his face in her hair. They stayed like this for a long time, neither of them speaking or moving; the only sound was Alice's slowly dying sobs.

In the end, it was a trembling Alice that broke the silence.

"I love you."

* * *

_This game...is over._

_And I won._

* * *

**Ohhh snappppp.**

**Finalllyyyy finished the Henry Arc. I was kinda beginning to hate it... OTZ**

**This chapter kinda screams EdxAllie. It's about time. It's taken them 17 chapters and a psyco killer to do anything! Geez.**

**About the whole talking in a kinda-coma thing. I have NO CLUE if something like this is possible. Let's just pretend it is. Because I have no experience with psychological things outside of what you learn in like, Health. So yeah. Feel free to correct me. (Anyone notice when she started calling Edward "Ed"? It has a bit of purpose! :) )**

**I'm gonna be honest with ya'll and say that I don't know what to write next. I'm more than likely gonna try and incorpate something from the actual plot and go from there. If you guys have any suggestions, please share! I'd be very, very grateful!**

**Please tell me what you liked, didn't like, would like to see, etc. I know there's people reading and not reviewing. Please, please review! I'd be so happy!**


	18. Stay By My Side

**...I lied. I said I didn't know what I was going to write. That seems to have been a lie. Because I convently forgot that I had to tie up the Henry Arc. **

**..and i really wanted to write the edxallie scene...**

**Thanks for all the lovely reviews!**

**So here's chapter 18! So close to 20!**

**Disclaimer: The usual**

***Still unbetaed, I apologize for any mistakes***

**Away we go!**

* * *

_Chapter 18: Stay By My Side_

* * *

_"I love you."_

Edward froze, his eyes widening. He refused to look down at Alice's hair, instead staring at the wall as he tried to comprehend what the girl had said. Had she really just told him she loved him?

"I'm sorry." Alice said suddenly, releasing her death grip on his coat and beginning to pull away. "I probably shouldn't have...um, well...said that. Sorry, Ed. You- you can go if you'd like..."

"Wait," Ed said, grabbing her arm and pulling her back before he knew what he was doing. Alice looked at him with surprise.

"I...I'm glad you said it actually..." Ed continued, blushing a bright red. "Because..."

"...Because what?" Alice asked softly when Ed didn't continue.

"Um. Because..."

Alice raised an eyebrow, trying not to smile as Edward's blush continued to deepen.

"Yes?"

"Because I think I love you too." Ed finally said, looking away. Alice's eyes widened again, her blush returning.

"You...think?" She asked, sitting up. Ed followed suit, grabbing her hands.

"I...know. I love you, Allie. I was terrified you wouldn't wake up. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't. If you had...left me. " Ed looked Alice in the eye for a moment, his golden eyes glinting with something Alice couldn't quite place. Then the blonde alchemist seemed to realize exactly what he had said and blushed a deep red again.

"I mean, well, I'm supposed to protect you and I, um, I just..." Ed took a deep breath, "I just need you, Alice. I didn't realize it before. I was always wary of you because there was no way to really prove your story. But then Emily...well. I was sad about that, I really was, but I was just really glad that it wasn't you and I couldn't figure out why and I felt really bad and then Henry showed up and-"

"'re rambling." Alice interrupted, a silly smile on her face. Ed glanced at her, starting to smile as well.

"Sorry." He said, giving a soft laugh. "I guess I'm just nervous. I've never really...felt like this before."

"Me neither." Alice replied softly, glancing down at their entwined hands. She gave a sigh, her smile fading a bit as she rubbed her thumb against the cool metal of Edward's automail.

"I'm sorry." She said, keeping her gaze on her lap. "I shouldn't have left like that. And I really shouldn't have just gone off with Henry like that. I should've known better, I don't know what on Earth made me think that was a good choice. I'm really sorry."

"Allie, you have nothing to apologize for. You were frustrated, that's why you left, right?"

Alice gave a nod, biting her lip.

"The Henry thing isn't your fault, Allie. He was using alchemy." Ed explained, giving her hands a squeeze. Alice looked up at him again, her eyes filled with confusion.

"Wait, what? Alchemy? How could he be using alchemy?" She asked.

"He was using some sort of neurological alchemy to control your thoughts and feelings. Roy's probably going to ask you about that once he finds out you're awake. But that's why you went with him. He made you go."

"Are..are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm positive."

"Ahh." Alice let out a sigh of relief, glad that she hadn't been as stupid as she had originally thought.

Ed looked like he want to say something else but didn't get the chance because the door suddenly opened, revealing Alphonse.

"Brother? I think it's time we...Alice? Alice! You're awake!"

"Yep!" Alice replied, smiling at the armor.

"I...probably should have told someone." Ed said nervously.

"Yes, you should have!" Al replied, giving Ed his version of a glare. "I'm going to go tell the nurses Alice is awake."

With that, Al turned and left the room, the door falling shut behind him.

"We probably have a few minutes until we get swarmed." Ed said, staring at the door.

Alice started to laugh, cutting off halfway through to wince, one of her hands pulling away from Ed's to touch her stomach.

"Oh yeah..." She muttered, frowning a bit. "He stabbed me, didn't he?"

"Yeah.." Ed answered, his smile disappearing as his eyes fell on her hand.

"I should kill that bastard." Ed muttered darkly. Alice's head snapped up to look at him.

"Isn't that a bit...harsh, Ed?" She asked slowly.

"How? He almost killed you!"

"But he didn't."

"That doesn't change the fact that he tried too!"

"I know." Alice said, grabbing Ed's hand again. "But don't let that affect you. Okay? He's the bad guy here. Don't let him bring you to his level."

Edward finally looked back up at her, his eyes angry and...scared? His hands pulled away from hers quickly and for a moment Alice felt disappointed. Then Ed wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

"Don't ever leave me, Allie. I can't take losing you." He whispered, his voice heavy sounding. Alice blinked, blushing again as she stared at the wall in surprised. She let out a small burst of breath, returning the embrace and burying her head in his shoulder.

"Promise you'll stay with me?" Ed asked, his voice so soft that she almost didn't hear it. She didn't waste a moment in responding.

"I promise."

**~X~**

"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate hospitals?" Alice asked as she tied her shoes. She had woken up three days ago but the doctors hadn't released her until that morning. Now she was preparing to leave, irritated that she spent so much time in such a white, anti-septic filled place.

"On mulitiple occasions." Ed answered with a grin from his post by the door. Alice glared at him as she stood up, brushing non-existant dirt off her pants.

"Al and Mustang are waiting for us downstairs. We'd better get going." Ed said, pushing away from the wall.

"Do I have to talk to Mustang?" Alice questioned, frowning a bit as she followed the alchemist out into the hallway.

"Yeah. It shouldn't take long though. Just tell him what you remember."

Alice gave a slight nod, pulling her sleeves down as they walked. Most of the wounds Henry had given her had healed nicely but the stab wound and a particularly nasty cut on her right arm had left scars. She felt a little better having those completely covered. They were passing a nurses station when Alice suddenly stopped walking, turning to stare down an adjacent hall. Ed stopped as well, looking back at her.

"Allie? Is something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, no. Sorry." She replied, turning back and starting to walk again. Ed watched her, waiting for her to walk past to start walking again.

Stupid hospitals. Alice hated them very, very much. And for a moment, just for a moment, Alice could have sworn she had seen Emily standing in that hallway. But when she had looked, it had been empty. Her mind was just playing tricks on her and she didn't like it.

It took far too long to meet up with Alphonse and Mustang in Alice's opinion but she quickly changed her mind when they arrived at Headquarters and Mustang started asking questions.

"Alright, Miss Smith. Please tell me everything you remember." Mustang said, starting up an old-fashioned tape recorder.

"Well...He came up to me a few blocks away from Ed and Al's apartment. He grabbed my shoulder and...told me I looked sad. I remember being really irritated, and that doing something fun sounded like a good idea. He took me to this garden...and-"

"Wait, a garden you say?"

"Yes?"

"We found you in the warehouse district Miss Smith. In a comdemned building."

"What?" Alice exclaimed, leaning forward in surprise. "But, we were in a garden! I'm positive of that!"

"Well," Roy said slowly, scribbling something down on a piece of paper, "Perhaps his alchemy made you think you were in a garden. Please continue."

Alice was silent for a moment, unsure, before giving a slight nod.

"We had tea and talked. Then he said that he wanted to play a game. He said that I had to sit in a chair while he tried to make me laugh. I agreed 'cause I thought it sounded like a good game. But then he put a blindfold over my eyes. He said it was part of the game but then, about halfway through, he started...using a knife."

Roy just nodded, scribbling on his paper again. "And how did you feel during this?"

"How did I...feel? What kind of question is that?"

"Answer it, Miss Smith."

"I...How did I feel? Um..." Alice blushed, suddenly remembering exactly how she had felt during the ordeal.

"I feel sick."

"You felt sick? Sick how?"

"No, I _feel_ sick." With that, Alice leapt up and ran out of the office, barely making it to the restroom before she lost her breakfast.

Gasping slightly, she leaned against the cold metal of the stall, staring at the wall above the toilet. She had thought she remembered everything, but she had been wrong. She hadn't remembered _this._

How on Earth could she have believed she loved him? To think that nothing else mattered? To accept her death if it was at his hands? Good god, she felt...pathetic. Stupid. Sick. She felt a lot of things and none of them were good. How could she have forgotten everything and everyone? Surely alchemy couldn't _actually_ do that?

"Miss Smith? The Colonel sent me to see if you were alright." A feminane voice called, floating past the door of the stall she was in. Alice recognized it as Riza Hawkeye's.

The teen sighed, flushing the toilet and exiting out into the main part of the restroom. Riza stood by the door, watching quietly as Alice washed her hands and rinsed her mouth.

"Miss Smith?"

"I'm...alright. Is Mustang waiting for me?"

"Yes, Miss."

"I'd better get back in there then..." Alice gave another sigh and followed the blonde solider out of the restroom. Roy looked up with slight annoyance when Alice re-entered the office, waiting until she had taken a seat to speak.

"Are you alright, Miss Smith?"

"...Yes."

"Then can you answer my question?"

"I..." Alice took a deep breath, cletching her fists, "I forgot everything. And everyone. I didn't know who Ed and Al were and I didn't know who...Emily was. I barely knew who I was. All I knew was Henry and the garden and that...that I..."

"That you what?"

"That...I loved him. I...thought I loved him. I thought he was the only thing in the world that was important. When he attacked me, I didn't care. I figured he had a good reason. I...was okay with dying if he was the one doing the killing. I was so afraid I had done something wrong, that he hated me or something. God..."

"It seems as though his alchemy really did work." Roy said, leaning back in his chair. Alice gave him a slight glare, her cheeks red again. Had she really just said all that to _Roy Mustang?_

"I believe that's all I need. Thank you very much, Miss Smith. Fullmetal and Alphonse should be in the cafeteria."

"Alright." Alice replied softly, getting up.

The cafeteria was on the first floor but it didn't take Alice all that long to get there from Roy's fifth floor office. The place was packed and it took her a few minutes to actually find them. They were sitting at an inner table with Havoc and a few others. There was an empty seat between Ed and Fuery and Alice slid into it without a word. Ed didn't jump, he just glanced at her, his face brightening when he realized who she was.

"Allie. You're back. It wasn't too bad, was it?" He asked, shoveling some food in his mouth. Alice tried to avoid looking at it, still feeling a tad queasy.

"Nah, it wasn't too bad."

"You want something to eat?" Havoc asked, offering her a biscuit. Alice shook her head, giving a small smile that she hoped counted as a "thanks anyway." When Ed realized that she wasn't going to eat, he finished up quickly and they, along with Al, finally headed back to the apartment.

**~X~**

Alice opened her eyes to find herself in an all too familiar white expanse. She took a shaky breath, looking around a certain asexual know-it-all. She found it a few feet away, sitting on the floor and grinning at her.

"Hello, Alice. You didn't think I'd forget you, right?" Truth said in greeting, waving her over, "Have a seat."

Alice didn't really want to sit with him, or it, or whatever the hell Truth was. But she did anyway.

"No. I just assumed you were waiting for it to get interesting." Alice responded.

"You really think you can lie to me, Alice? I _am_ Truth after all."

Alice paled slightly. "One can try, right?"

"That's very true!" Truth replied, laughing. He, or it, leaned forward. "You were right you know. I was just waiting for it to get interesting."

"Oh?"

"Yes. That conversation you had with little Edward this morning proved to be _very_ interesting."

Any blood left in Alice's face drained away. Truth just chuckled.

"I have a very important use for you, Alice. Very important. Because you taught me something today."

"A-and just what did I teach you?" She asked.

"That when it comes to Edward Elric, you may just be the most powerful weapon in my possession."

Alice stiffened. Just what did Truth mean by that?

The Gate behind Truth slowly swung open; long black hands reaching out and wrapping around her. She didn't scream or cry or even react. She just let them take her.

"Good night, Alice. Sleep well."

* * *

**Bet ya'll forgot about Truth's part in all this. I certainly did. The last time he was in the story was wayyy back in chapter 5. (I checked.)**

**I desperately hope I didn't make Ed super OOC at the beginning. I also hope it wasn't too mushy. I tried to make it realistic and such. They were in a hospital after all.**

**So I realize what I said about not knowing what to write next. That's a partial lie. 'Cause I know what I want to happen at the end. I just need to figure out how to get there. Any suggestions? Are there any situations from the manga or Brotherhood that you'd like to see? I'm certainly open to suggestions. **

**I probably should have been preparing for the ACT instead of writing this but...oh well. It's worth it! (Few more days and the ACT will be overwith! Whoo!)**

**Anyhoo, please review! Since I seemed to get more responses when I did this, I'm going to try it again.**

**Questions:**

**1- What did you think of the Henry Arc?**

**2- What did you think about Henry's alchemy?**

**3- Feelings on EdxAllie bomb in this chapter?**

**4- Any ACT tips?**

**5-What would you like to see in this story?**

**Until next time!**


	19. Life

**Your eyes don't decieve you. I changed my username. :D You like?**

**Hello everyone! Welcome to chapter 19! I never expected to get this far, hahahah.**

**I'd like to thank all my lovely reviewers and everyone who favorited/alerted this story. You're all awesome! I mean it! Absolute best!**

***Also, I made a teeny mistake last chapter but I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to fixing it so I'll just correct myself here. During the Truth scene, he says the discussion happened that morning. That's wrong. The discussion happened three days before the Truth scene. But I wasn't paying attention and accidentally put the wrong thing. I apologize. *bows**  
**

****Unbetaed****

**Disclaimer: I no own FMA. Nor do I own "Boats & Birds" by Gregory and The Hawk. Or TMNT.**

**And away we go!**

* * *

_Chapter 19: Life_

* * *

A very long time ago, Alice had been a fan of the show Teenage Muntant Ninja Turtles. She and her friends had all watched it, attempting to replicate the movements they saw on the show. It had always been fun. Now that Alice was actually being taught those moves by someone who actually knew how to do them, it wasn't as fun.

"Bring your left arm up a bit more. Keep your right arm where it is. Lean a little to the left...better."

Alice tried not to curse in irritation as she attempted to follow Edward's instructions. She stayed as still as she could, watching him as he looked her over.

"Your stance isn't bad...your form seems to be alright. Your arm's still a bit low." Ed stated, coming to a stop behind her. He moved foward, his body pressed against hers as he reached around her to adjust her arm. Alice blushed brightly, letting him move her limb without resistance.

The two were quiet for a moment, unmoving. Alice was about to ask Ed what he was doing when he suddenly spun her around, pulling her close. Her blush deepened, her green eyes locked with Ed's golden ones. Ed had just begun to move closer when Al came out into the yard, causing them to jump apart.

"Are you two okay?" Al asked, sounding worried, "You're both bright red."

"I-it's nothing. We were just sparring." Ed stuttered, refusing to look away from the ground. Alice just nodded in agreement, not trusting herself to speak.

"Oh. Well, Colonel Mustang just called. Apparently we have a new mission."

"Did he say what it was? Or do we have to go see him?" Ed asked, heading inside.

"He wants us to go inspect an old coal mine about fifteen miles outside the city. It hasn't been used for a long time and the military is considering using it again."

"For what?" Alice questioned as she swept her hair back into a messy bun.

"I'm not really sure. But the Colonel wants to go see whether or not it's safe and usable."

"Right," Ed said, crossing his arms. "When do we leave?"

"Soon. Havoc will be coming to take us out there, since we don't have a car and we can't drive."

"I can drive," Alice piped up, causing the Elrics to look at her in surprise. She blushed slightly, "But I probably can't drive your cars. They're stick shift, aren't they? Do they even have gears?"

"Stick shift?" Ed repeated, looking confused.

"Uh, it's nothing. Don't worry about it," Alice said quickly, waving her hands, "Let's go get ready."

**~X~**

"You can't _actually_ expect me to go in there."

"I do and you will."

"No way! It looks like a death trap!"

"It does not! It just looks like a cave! How can a cave look like a 'death trap'?"

"Are you blind? That's not a cave, it's a black hole!"

Alphonse sighed, wishing he had gone back to Central with Havoc. They hadn't even been here for five minutes and Ed and Alice were already arguing. The armor strode past them, not bothering to say anything as he entered the coal mine.

"Al! Wait up!" Ed cried, turning back to grab Alice's arm before hurrying after him.

"Not fair, not fair!" Alice exclaimed, trying to escape the alchemist's grasp.

"Oh calm down, Allie," Ed muttered, glaring at her over his shoulder, "The sooner we finish the inspection, the sooner we can go home. Suck it up."

"Gee, there's so much love in that statement I might just drown," Alice snapped.

"Enough you two." Al called from farther in.

Alice and Edward caught up to him quickly, huddling together around the light coming from Ed's lantern. The brothers were relaxed, scanning the area around them and occasionally going over to the wall to inspect a crack. Alice stayed put, her arms wrapped around herself, a frown on her face.

"Can't we just lie and say that the place is condemned?" Alice asked, glancing over at Ed. Unfortunately, Al was the one who answered.

"Alice! We couldn't do that! What if this place is still useable? Maybe it can be used to help people."

"Yeah right," She muttered, turning away so she didn't have to face either of them.

"He's right, " Ed said, lifting the lantern up so he could see the wall better, "If we say this place is worthless when it really isn't, we might hurt someone's chances at getting help, or a job, or whatever these mines would offer."

Alice just sighed, finally moving to go stand by an old metal cart. She placed her hands on it, leaning forward to see if there was anything inside. Much to her disappointment, it was empty.

"Maybe we'd finish sooner if we split up?" Al offered.

"Well...I suppose it couldn't hurt. Allie will have to come with me, of course. We can't let her wander a mine on her own," Ed replied, grinning.

The brothers decided that this was best course of action and they headed off, Alphonse going down a tunnel on the left, Alice and Ed going down a tunnel on the right.

Alice should have known this wouldn't end well.

They had been walking through the mines for a good half hour, turning into new tunnels whenever Ed felt it was a good idea. So far there hadn't been much that would lead to the mine being condemned. The two came to a stop in a large cavern, the first part of the mine they had come across that actually lead to lower levels.

Ed stood at the top of the path that went along the cavern wall, the lantern held high. He frowned bit, slowly beginning to turn towards Alice when she suddenly screamed, flinging herself at him. Ed let out a grunt, just barely managing to keep them both upright and on the path.

"What the hell, Allie? Why'd you scream?" He asked, glancing around her head to see if there was anyone else in the cavern with them.

"Rat! Big one! It's was huge, Ed! Like, you don't even know. It was obese!" Alice exclaimed, gripping the front of his jacket and shaking him. Twitching, he grabbed her shoulder, pushing her back a bit.

"A rat? You screamed because of a rat?"

"Yes!" She cried, latching onto his arm, "Come on, Ed, you're supposed to protect me!"

"I don't think rats count!"

"They totally count!"

"Whatever. Come on, we're going down." Ed said, pulling away from her. Alice froze.

"What? We're...going down there?"

"Yes," Ed replied, glancing back, "It's just a mine. I...promise to protect you from the rats, okay?" The blonde blushed slightly, holding out his hand.

Alice stared at it for a moment before grabbing it, lacing her fingers through his.

"Alright. But it's not really the rats I'm worried about now."

"We'll be fine. Trust me."

**~X~**

"I never should have trusted you, Edward Elric!" Alice exclaimed, her voice rising to the point of panic.

"So we're a bit lost. We'll be fine." Ed responded nonchalantly.

"A bit lost? Does that mean we were only a teeny, tiny bit lost _three hours ago?_"

"Not nessasarily."

"Argh! We're gonna be trapped here the rest of our lives! We'll never find away out. Ed, I don't wanna be stuck in some godforsaken coal mine the rest of my life!"

"Calm down, Allie. We'll find a way out. We just have to keep looking."

"I should have just stayed home," Alice muttered, sliding down to sit against the wall. Ed strode over to stand in front of her, crouching down so he could look her in the eye.

"Sitting down isn't going to get us out of here."

Alice sighed, covering her eyes with her hands so she wouldn't have to look at Ed.

"Can't you just use alchemy? Can't you make a hole though the ceiling or something?"

"And how exactly would we climb out?"

"I dunno, can't you make a rope?"

"I don't have the right materials."

"Damn it." Alice let her hands to drop to find that Ed had opted to sit down as well. He sat in front of her, his golden eyes glowing in the lantern light. She blushed slightly, relaxing against the wall and waiting for Ed to speak.

He didn't. Instead, he leaned forward, a blush developing on his cheeks as he moved. He stopped about a foot away, blushing even more. Alice watched him, waiting. When it was obvious he wasn't going get any closer, Alice took the intiative and moved forward herself.

Now the two were only inches apart, so close that staring into Ed's eyes almost made Alice go cross-eyed. Ed suddenly seemed to realize just how close they were and began to pull back, his cheeks even redder than before.

But Alice had been stuck in a mine all day and she wasn't about to let the only worthwhile event slip away.

She reached forward, grabbing Ed's jacket and pulling him closer until their lips met. Ed was frozen at first and for a moment Alice was afraid she had done the wrong thing. But then he started to kiss her back, his arms moving to slip around her waist. Alice's arms ended up flung around his neck as the kiss deepened, continuing on until they were forced to break apart for air.

They stared at each other, their eyes alight with excitement.

"Maybe...we should have done that sooner." Ed muttered.

"Yeah, maybe." Alice replied. Their eyes met for a moment before they both started snickering, collapsing against each other as their bodies shook with laughter.

Eventually their laughter subsided, their foreheads touching as they caught their breath. Alice took Ed's hand's, running her fingers over his automail hand.

"Do you realize how badass your automail is?"

Ed let out a laugh, his eyes sliding closed.

"You certainly have a way with words, Allie."

Alice grinned, closing her eyes as well.

"I'm tired," She said softly, "Think we'll make it out of here soon?"

"Yeah. But I'm tired too. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt if we just rested for a few minutes."

Edward pulled away, moving to sit beside her against the wall, allowing Allie to rest her head on his shoulder. They sat in a comfortable silence, the calmest they had been since arriving at the mine.

"I wonder where Al is..." Alice mumbled. Ed gave a little sound that Alice assumed meant something along the lines of "So do I."

"Hey, Allie?"

"Hm?"

"Do you remember that time in Resembool? Back when we first met? How you and...Emily were singing?"

Alice smiled a bit at the memory before frowning a bit in confusion.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Uh...well...We weren't on...good terms then, but I remember thinking that your voice was pretty."

"R-really?" Alice asked, blushing.

"Mhmm. Could you...sing again?"

"Right now?"

"Well...it's really quiet and since we decided to rest...I kinda want to hear you sing again. Will you?"

"Uh...I suppose I could. What do you want me to sing?"

"Something nice, I guess." Ed replied, resting his head against hers.

Alice bit her lip, thinking. What could she possibly sing? It had been so long since she had heard any music from home. And most of the songs she remembered weren't exactly "nice."

Well, there was one...

So Alice took a deep breath and began to sing.

_"If you'll be my star, I'll be your sky_

_you can hide underneath me and come out at night._

_When I turn jet black and you show off your light,_

_I live to let you shine._

_I live to let you shine._

_But you can skyrocket away from me,_

_and never come back if you find another galaxy._

_Far from here, with more room to fly._

_Just leave me your stardust to remember you by."_

Ed reached over, taking Alice's hand.

_"If you'll be my boat, I'll be your sea_

_the depth of pure blue just to probe curiosity._

_Ebbing and flowing and pushed by a breeze,_

_I live to make you free._

_I live to make you free._

_But you can set sail to the west if you want to,_

_past the horizon, 'till I can't even see you._

_Far from here, where the beaches are wide._

_Just leave me your wake to remember you by."_

"That...seems kind of sad." Ed remarked, his voice quiet.

"Yeah. But it's kind of lovely too."

"I suppose so."

"Should we go look for an exit now? Or at least try to find Alphonse?"

"Yeah, we probably should."

Ed got up, helping Alice stand and keeping hold of her hand once they started to walk.

Alice didn't complain.

* * *

**Well, that didn't take as long as I thought it would. This is kind of a chapter of filler/fluff/regular life, instead of someone getting kidnapped or something. I tried? Chapter 20 might come soon cuz it will be more coal mine stuff :)**

**Since quite a few people asked for a kiss, I figured I'd put one in this chapter. How did I do with it? I haven't really written much stuff like that.**

**I hope Ed wasn't too OOC this chapter...**

**If you haven't heard that song, I highly suggest you look it up. It really is lovely. :) (It's Boats & Birds by Gregory and The Hawk)**

**Anyhoo, before we get to questions, I'd like to make a shameless plug! KamonKayoko and I are currently writing a FMA story together and it would mean a lot to us if you all checked it out!**

** www. fanfiction s/ 8113953/1/ On_Melancholy_Hill**

**Just take out the spaces :)  
**

**End of Chapter Questions:**

**1- Your opinion on the kiss?**

**2- On the coal mine?**

**3- Is there any specific event you would like to see in this story?**

**4- Who else thinks Captain America is a fantastic movie?**

**5- Who would win in a fight? Edward Elric or Harry Potter? Why?**

**Please review! Send me your thoughts! I'd love to hear from you guys!**

**Until next time!**


	20. Promise

**Hello everyone! Welcome to chapter 20! *opens a bottle of champange***

**Momentous, right? Haha**

**Thank you all for your lovely reviews and your alerts/faves! You guys are the best! You always make me feel like that "Oh stop it youuu" meme! xD**

***Unbetaed***

**Disclaimer: The usual**

**And away we go!**

* * *

_Chapter 20: Promise_

* * *

"We're never gonna find Al, are we?"

"Sure we will. We just have to keep looking."

"We've been looking for hours. Don't you think we woulda found him by now? Or at least made it back to the entrance?"

"We'll get out of here, alright? There's no need to be so dramatic," Ed sighed, glancing back at Alice as he spoke.

Alice just huffed in response, raising the lantern a bit so she could see better.

The tunnel they were currently in was damp and smelly. There were wooden doors lining each side, with old barrels and boxes everywhere. Alice couldn't help but notice just how similar it was to Amnesia, a video game she had played back home. She hurried to catch up to Ed as images from the game came to mind.

"What's your problem?" Ed asked, glancing at her in surprise as she latched onto his arm.

"Grunts! I mean...uh, nothing." She replied, quickly looking away.

"Okay?"

Alice bit her lip, refusing to look at Ed. Instead, she kept looking ahead, trying to find something familiar. That's when she glanced down a tunnel and saw a splash of natural light. She didn't even bother telling Edward; she just grabbed his hand and took off. A few moments later they were standing in the entrance of the tunnel, the setting sun clearly visible.

"Oh hallelujah! Praise the Lord! We're out!" Alice cried, sprinting out of the mine and spinning around in the waning sunlight. Ed followed her out, a small smile on his face. Alice hadn't been the only one who wanted out of those mines after all.

Alice finally stopped spinning and stumbled over to where Ed stood. The two teenagers stood in silence for a bit, breathing in the clean, cool air.

"Is...Al still in there?" Alice asked after a while, glancing over at Ed.

"Possibly. I'll go back in and look."

"What? You can't go back in there! I told you, it's a death trap! We're lucky we got out alive!" Alice exclaimed, suddenly a bit panicked. Ed just sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll be fine, Allie. I just need to make sure Al's not lost. This mine is perfectly safe, okay?"

"Promise?"

"I promise. Will you be okay out here?"

"Yeah...Just don't take too long, alright?"

Ed nodded, watching her for a moment. Suddenly he leaned forward, giving her a quick kiss before running off. Alice blushed in surprise, the whole thing had happened fast she hadn't been able to respond. Shaking her head, she strode over to a group of rocks and sat down to wait.

.

.

.

Ed returned an hour later, a crumpled piece of paper held in his hand, his eyes blazing with anger. Alice leapt up, worried.

"Ed? Ed, what's wrong? Where's Al?"

"Gone! Those...bastards took him!" Ed exclaimed, throwing the paper at her. Alice just barely managed to catch it, hurriedly smoothing it out so she could read it. Her eyes flicked back and forth as she read, her face getting paler with each word. Her hands shook by the time she was finished.

"The...homunculi took him? They...want to...trade? For m-me?"

"Apparently," Ed growled, his arms crossed as he glowered at the mine.

Alice took a deep breath, looking back down at the note. She had no idea why the homunculi would want her. It's not like they knew she was from another world...right? But if they did somehow know...well, this would make more sense. She didn't know what they were planning, but she couldn't just leave Al with them. She had to get him back. That's what Ed would want too, right? Of course, Al was his little brother. Of course he'd want that.

"I'll go," She finally said, her voice sounding breathy. Ed's head snapped up and he looked over at her with wide, scared eyes.

"W-what? No! You, you can't just..._go_ to them! You...don't know how to fight, you still haven't gotten the hang of alchemy! Absolutely not!"

"But, I have to! I have to go so they'll free Al! And I kinda know how to fight! I took karate when I was little!" Alice replied, gripping the paper tightly.

"That doesn't mean you can fight the homunculi! Look, we'll get Al back, okay? Just in a different manner." Ed said, looking back towards the mine.

"But this is the fastest way to do it! What if...what if I went in there, got Al freed, then escaped?"

"Escaped?" Ed turned back to her, shocked, "From the homunculi? Is that even possible?"

"I'm sure...it could be. If I tried. Ed, you have to let me go! It's my fault they took Al! I've gotta fix it."

"It's not your fault, Allie!"

"But it is!" Alice cried, straightening up, "If I wasn't here, the homunculi wouldn't have kidnapped Al!"

"You don't know that, Alice." Ed responded, his eyes narrowed.

"Why else would they take him?" Alice countered, crossing her arms.

"I...I don't know! Just...don't do this, Alice."

"Don't you want your brother back?"

"Of course I do!" Ed exclaimed, the lightest of blushes beginning to spread over his cheeks, "But Alice, they'll kill you if you go to them! I...I can't lose you, Allie."

"I..." Alice fell quiet, unsure of how to respond. This Ed that truely cared for her, the Ed that loved her. She wasn't quite used to it yet. But...

"I..."

Alice's eye's lit up as she got an idea. Taking a deep breath, she stuck out her hand, her pinky finger out.

"What...are you doing?" Ed asked weakly, glancing down at her hand.

"You...don't know?"

Ed just shook his head.

"It's a pinky promise. It's absolutely taboo to break a pinky promise, so you have to believe me."

"Just...what makes it so taboo? Is alchemy involved? Or some sort of curse?" Ed asked, looking at her hand warily.

"N-no. You just...can't break a pinky promise."

"How? If all your doing is touching someone's hand, surely it's easy to break?"

"Well, yeah...but. I don't know how to put this. You just can't break a pinky promise, Ed. They're...um, sacred. Okay?"

"...Alright. But why are you telling me this?"

"Because I'm going to promise you something. Just wrap your pinky around mine." Alice said, blushing. Ed blushed a bit too as he followed Alice's instructions.

"Now what?"

"Now I make my promise," Alice replied. She stared at their hands for a moment before lifting her head and looking into Edward's eye.

"I...I promise to return to you. Okay? If you let me go to the homunculi to free Al, I promise I'll come back. Once he's free, I'll escape. I promise I'll come back to you."

"And...you can't break this?" Ed mumbled, blushing even more. Alice gave a nod.

"...Alright. But you better not break your promise. I'll be waiting for you near-by, okay?"

"Okay." Alice said, moving their hands down and back up before letting go.

"Now, let's go get Al back!" She cried, grabbing Ed's hand and leading him in the direction of Central, "The homunculi won't wait forever."

* * *

**Blehhhh. This chapter. ORZ**

**Gah, I'm sorry this is so short! But this was sooooo hard to write. I don't even know why. But I'm sorryyy. *bows***

**I hope the promise scene went okay...I tried to keep Ed in character. And not make it too sappy. =3=**

**We're entering the final arc of the story! That's right, WMUP is almost over. There will probably be...2 or 3 more chapters. Plus an epilogue. **

**I wanna thank you all for sticking with me for so long! You're all amazing! :D**

**I do have a very important question for all of you though! I'll put it at the top of the questions list.**

**1- If you were writing this story, would you have Alice stay in Amestris forever? Or would you have her go home and have Ed and Al end up in our world with her? I think I know what I'm going to do, but I'd love to have your opinions!**

**2- It's Canada Day! Are any of my readers Canadian? :D**

**3- I just recently joined PewDiePie's Bro Army. Any one else a Bro?**

**4- Do any of you have a Figment account? If you do, you should talk to me. :)**

**That's all for now! There's a handy new way to leave reviews now! I can't wait to hear from you!**

**Until next time~**


	21. Do Not Go Gentle

**Hello everyone! Welcome to the final chapter of WMUP!**

**I know I said there would be at least 2 more chapters but...**

**Honestly, I've been writing this story for years. It's gotta end hahah**

**I'd like to thank all the wonderful people that have read, reviewed, faved, and followed. It means to much to me! Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA! If I did, I'd be rich. Also, Unbetaed.**

**Now, go read! I'm saving the special note for the end :3**

* * *

Chapter 21: _Do Not Go Gentle_

* * *

The alley they stood in was dark and smelly and Alice was tempted to bury her face in Ed's jacket, just so the scent couldn't reach her. Unfortunately, he moved before she could do so and she flailed for a moment, quickly regaining her balance and hurrying after him.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Alice called softly, quickly crouching behind a fallen trash can when Ed held up his hand. A few moments later, the blonde got back up and turned to face her.

"'Course I know where I'm going. I've been here before."

"Right, right..." she muttered softly, standing up. Something in the back of her mind told her that that was wrong. That there was no way he could have been here before.

But since she had no idea _why_ he couldn't have been here, she ignored it.

At least, until the words _Hughes is still alive, he couldn't have been here_ floated across her mind. The thought surprised her so much that she actually stopped walking and stood frozen in the center of the alley. What did Hughes have to do with anything? Of course he was still alive, why wouldn't he be?

Wait...

_"So you've seen it before?"_

_"Uh-huh, I think it was volume...five? Yeah, I think so..."_

Wait.

She was forgetting something...

A frown graced Alice's lips as she covered her eyes. What was she forgetting?!

_"Hmm...well, pushing all your trust issues out of the way, you've had a crush on that boy ever since you started reading Fullmetal Alchemist."_

_"Hurgh...yeah. Now answer my question."_

Reading? What had Emily meant by that?

"Allie? Is something wrong? Have you changed your mind?"

Alice looked up at Ed in surprise, she had almost forgotten he was there. She was about to answer when she remembered something else.

_"He's a fictional character, Allie. That sort of thing doesn't happen."_

Fictional...character?

Slowly, the things she had forgotten in the past month or so came flying back and she stared at Ed with wide, green eyes.

"Allie?"

"I...had forgotten. I forgot everything...nothing's right. Nothing's right anymore! What have I done?!" Alice cried, suddenly panicked. When was the last time anything had gone according to plot? The Rockbells? Lab Five? She didn't know.

"What on earth are you going on about?" Ed asked, a look of confused on his face.

Alice began to answer, only to stop herself when she realized that she had never told Ed about the Fullmetal Alchemist series. Of course she hadn't, she had somehow forgotten it...

And now wasn't the time to explain.

"It's nothing. I just remembered something, something kinda...important. To me anyway. It's nothing, really. Come on, Al's waiting for us," Alice replied, grabbing Ed's hand and pulling him down the alley. The blonde let out a sigh but let the subject drop. He gave her hand a tug a few feet later, making them stop in front of an old, rusty gate.

The gate was now familiar to Alice and she paled as she remembered what was down below. Before, when she hadn't remembered anything, she had assumed it was some sort of building that the Homunculi used.

Now she knew the truth.

All she had ever seen was the sewers and the large, pipe filled room. And that was probably all she'd see when she went down there.

How was she supposed to get away from Father? Did Ed even know about him yet?

And how was she supposed to escape with those chimera lying in wait above the tunnels?

It was after she had given Ed a quick kiss and a promise to stay safe that she realized another truth.

She wouldn't be escaping.

**~X~**

Alice was more than a little surprised when she found Envy waiting for her in the sewers. She had assumed they would wait for her to come to them.

"Evening, Brat," the Homunculi greeted, unfolding his arms, "I'm surprised you didn't bring the Fullmetal Pipsqueak with you."

"You told me not to," Alice replied, trying not to shiver.

"True. Good job listening then. Let's go." Envy snapped, turning around and heading into sewers. Alice strode after him without question.

"You came to escort me? Should I be flattered?" She asked, hoping her voice didn't betray just how scared she was.

"Tch. I didn't come 'cause I like you. I came 'cause you'd be mauled if you tried to come on your own. And we kinda need you alive for a bit."

Alice couldn't repress the shiver that ran through her and she rubbed her arms as she walked. It took every fiber of her will power to keep from looking up at the chimera's that resided in the ceiling.

The sewer path wasn't nearly as long as the manga had made it look and all too soon, Envy was leading her into the main room. It was a lot larger and colder than she had expected it to be and the room only contained three people. Gluttony sat on one of the large pipes, a piece of cloth hanging from his mouth. Alphonse lay on the ground a few feet away, his arms torn off and a thick, dirty rope wrapped around him. Father stood atop the platform in the back of the room, watching with avid curiosity as Envy grabbed her arm and dragged her toward the platform.

"Thank you for retrieving her, Envy. Please place her in the circle," Father said, smiling at them as the long-haired homunculi led her up the steps. Alice let out a small gasp of fear when she saw the circle Father had been referring to.

It was large, taking up a good part of the platform, and contained symbols that Alice knew were from Xerxes, the fallen country. It reminded her of a human transmutation circle, but her gut told her it was probably much worse.

Envy pushed her forward and she fell into the middle of the circle with a pained 'oof.' She quickly sat up, turning to face her captors.

"You'll let Al go now, right?"

"Yes," Father answered, smiling at her, "And if you cooperate, we will leave Edward be. We will send Alphonse back and let them both leave. Do you understand?"

At first Alice couldn't move, but as Fathers eyes narrowed, she managed to nod.

"Good. Envy? Please return Alphonse to his brother."

"Fine." The homunculi said, smirking at Alice as he left.

"What...what are you going to do to me?" Alice asked softly, clenching her hands as fear began to course through her. What she been thinking?! Of course she couldn't escape the Homunculi. No one could! Except Ed. He probably could. But she wasn't Ed.

She was Alice Smith, a weak little girl from an entirely different world.

And she had made a terrible mistake.

"You're from a different world, Alice. And because of that I'll be using you to open the gate," Father explained, stepping onto the circle. All of the lines began to glow a blinding white and an unnatural wind tore at Alice. The strangest of feelings overcame her and she began to scream out of fear.

She could see Father's outline amidst the blinding light and she reached for it desperation.

But the shadowy figure was fading.

And she realized she had never said goodbye.

**~X~**

"Hello, Alice. It's been a while."

Hm? Who was that?

"I realize you probably don't want to see me, but the polite thing to do would be to at least look at me."

Alice frowned as she finally recognized the voice. She opened her eyes to find herself in the familiar white expanse that was the Gate; Truth sitting across from her with a smug smile on his face.

"This...isn't a dream, is it?" Alice asked softly, even though she already knew the answer.

"That's correct. You didn't belong in Amestris, therefore a toll is not required from you when you leave. Father attempted to use that to his advantage."

"Attempted?"

"He failed," Truth said, chuckling a bit, "All he succeeded in doing was sending you to me. And because of the type of circle he used, you can't return to Amestris."

Alice stayed quiet, suddenly unsure of how she felt. She wanted to go home but...she also wanted to be with Ed.

"Isn't there _some_ way I can return?"

"I'm afraid not. I'm tired of this game anyway. Besides, I'm sure Emily needs your help right now."

"E-excuse me?!" Alice stuttered, suddenly sitting up straighter.

"Ah, that's right, you don't know. Emily isn't...dead. Well, I suppose she is...here's the explanation. You and Emily are not from Amestris, therefore you can't die there. Well you can, but you're just sent back to where you came from when it happens."

"You mean...Emily's...alive right now? She's at home right now?!"

"Correct."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" Alice screamed, leaping up, "All this time, I thought my best friend was dead and now your telling me she's alive?!"

"I'd have thought you'd be happy." Truth said, crossing his arms.

"I-I...I'm...angry! I...I want to go home, and I want to see Emily again, but I can't leave Ed! I...I love him!" Alice cried, her mixed emotions causing tears to slip from her eyes. She rubbed at them furiously, angry that she felt completely lost.

"I'm afraid you have no choice, Alice. It's time for you to return to your world."

Alice jumped as the Gate began to swing open, it's movements creating an almost painful grinding sound. The tiny black hands shot out before she could move and began to pull her in, just like they had in her dream. But this time she didn't go quietly.

"Let me go! Damn it, please! I have to get back to Ed! I promised! I PROMISED!" she cried, struggling with the hands. In a moment of pure desperation, she grabbed for the Gate itself.

_"It's a pinky promise. It's absolutely taboo to break a pinky promise, so you have to believe me."_

_"Just...what makes it so taboo? Is alchemy involved? Or some sort of curse?" _

_"N-no. You just...can't break a pinky promise."_

"I can't- I can't break my promise!," she sobbed, "Please Truth, let me go back! I'm begging you! I'll do anything! Please!"

"I'm sorry, Alice. But your destiny is elsewhere."

Alice let out another sob as she lost her grip on the door and the black hands pulled her in.

How was she supposed to live without Ed?

Alice kept struggling but the hands only tightened. A pathetic, terrified wail escaped her.

_"I promise I'll come back to you."_

The last sliver of light disappeared and Alice finally gave in.

There was nothing to fight for anymore.

* * *

**There it is guys. The end of WMUP. Well...not exactly. There's still the epilogue. There won't be any authors notes on that, so this will be the final one.**

**I want to thank all of you for sticking with me for so long. Really, it means so much to me that there are people out there who are actually reading my stories. I love you all! I'm thankful for every review you guys have ever sent me, for every follow or fave. Really, thank you all so much!**

**I've been writing this story for so long, it'll be weird to...not write it anymore. But I suppose it's a good thing, finishing this story now. I need to spend more time on my original writing. But, maybe whenever I get writers block, I can come back here and write some drabbles featuring Ed and Allie. I can't bear to let them die :)**

**Well, I think that's all I need to say, haha. Please tell what you thought about this chapter? And maybe the story in general?**

**Once again, thank you all so much for reading this story!**

**Lots of Love, QueenOfTheMods**


	22. Carry Yourself Back to Me

_Epilogue: Carry Yourself Back to Me_

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_One year later_

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"Alice, what does this little squiggle thing mean?"

"Hm?" Alice mumbled, turning to look at the paper Emily was holding, "That...is...a four. Or a nine. Probably a four."

"Seriously, Allie, work on your handwriting," Emily grumbled, writing something down beside the so-called scribble, "How do you expect to get a good grade if the professor can't read your work? This isn't high school anymore."

"Yeah, yeah, I know..." Alice replied, resting her head on her desk. By some twist of fate, she and Emily had ended up in the same Math and English classes at the local college. In another year they would both be heading off to different colleges, but for now they were still together. Emily always said it was a good thing, even if she did complain about it once and a while.

Alice's return the year before had been fairly anticlimactic, especially since her family and friends didn't seem to realize she had ever gone missing. The same had happened for Emily when she had returned and the two had decided that it was Truth's doing. Not that they minded. It made things quite a bit easier.

But neither of them were really the same, especially Alice. They never really hung out with their friends anymore and they often feel into strange silences when certain topics were brought up. And Alice couldn't seem to get over Ed.

When Emily had discovered what had happened after she had left, she tried to help her friend but Alice just couldn't let go. And it seemed to be getting worse.

"Have you even done your History essay?" Emily asked, setting her notebook down.

"...No."

"Alice, you have to stop this. You're...not going to see him again, alright? You have to focus on this world now. If you flunk out of college, you'll never get a good job!"

"You don't know that!" Alice cried, sitting up. A few people glanced at them but a quick glare from Emily made them turn back.

"Quiet down, you'll get us in trouble!" Emily hissed.

"No! Ed...I'm not giving up on Ed! I love him, alright?! I refuse to give up." Alice said, slamming her palms on her desk.

"Alice..."

"I'm...I don't feel good. I'm going home," Alice muttered, standing up.

Emily watched quietly as her friend spoke with the professor quietly then left the room. She let out a sigh as the door fell shut, glancing down to find that Alice had left her notebook. Again.

Maybe she should Alice buy one of those self-help books for her birthday...

**~X~**

Alice strode across the campus, her bag bouncing against her hip. She was angry but she didn't know why. Emily was right, of course. It had been a year since Alice had returned from Amestris and she knew there was no way she could get back.

Edward, the man she loved, was forever out of her reach.

And whoever had said "it was better to have loved and lost" needed to be shoved down a hole.

She let out a sigh, reaching up to push her newly cut brown hair out of her face. The campus was fairly empty considering that everyone who wasn't in a class was either at home or in the cafeteria. Alice frowned, wondering exactly what it was she was doing.

Emily was right, again. She needed to focus on school, on her life, not the time she had spent in Amestris. Continually thinking about Ed, and Al, wasn't helping things.

Alice finally reached her car, unlocking the door and throwing her bag inside. But she didn't follow her bag in. Instead she stood there quietly, suddenly sure she was being watched. A quickly glance around told her that she was alone, but she couldn't shake the feeling. Suddenly a bit paranoid, she slid inside and slammed the door shut, letting out a sigh as she started the car.

She was just imagining things again, that was all.

Alice let out a high pitched shriek as something collided with her window and she turned to find a very familiar blond standing outside her window.

She threw the door open, almost knocking the man over.

"E-Edward? Ed, is that you?!"

"Yes," the man replied, grinning, "Did you really have to try and hit me, Allie?"

Alice stood frozen, staring at the blonde in shock. He looked older than she had last seen him, of course, and his hair seemed longer. He had it tied back in a ponytail instead of a braid. He was also wearing modern clothes, as if he had been there a while. He raised an eyebrow, tilting his head to the side.

"If you're mad at me, it's not my fault. I should be the one mad at you, considering you broke our promise." Ed said, crossing his arms.

"I-I..." Alice grasped vainly at the words, too shocked to form a coherent sentence. How on Earth was Ed here?!

"How?" She finally managed to get out.

"Ah...well..." Ed started to explain, blushing a bit as he scratched his head, "The homunculi...we finally defeated them. I was attempting to get Al's body back when Truth told me that the only way to get it was if I gave up my world and came here. Al refused to be separated from me and transmuted himself here afterwards. I was...kinda surprised, considering Al seemed to have a thing for Winry..."

"You...gave up Amestris? Both of you?"

"Yeah. I had to. Al's body was finally in my grasp, I couldn't give up."

"I..." Alice choked a little, realizing with embarrassment that she was crying. She quickly buried her face in her hands and hoped Ed hadn't noticed.

"Allie? Allie, what's wrong?" Ed asked, his hand resting on her shoulder.

It only took a second for Alice to wrap her arms around Edward and it only took half a second for him to return the embrace. Ed rested his chin on Alice's head, rubbing her back as her shoulder's shook with sobs.

"I'm...I'm so sorry, " Alice gasped, "I'm so sorry I broke my promise, Ed!"

Ed stopped rubbing her back and tightened his hold on her.

"It's not your fault, Allie. I'm not mad. I'm just glad I have you back," he whispered, his voice husky.

Alice gave a shaky nod, gripping the back of Ed's shirt in a kind of desperation.

"I love you, Ed," she gasped.

"I love you too, Allie."

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_"Wherever we journey,  
Wherever we call home  
One thing is always true.  
You are a part of me  
And I am a part of you."_

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_Fin._


End file.
